Bengaluru stampede: ‘Craving publicity when people died,' H D Kumaraswamy demands Karnataka govt to sack Deputy CM D K Shivakumar

Indian Express

a day ago

Holding Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar responsible for the stampede at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru that killed 11 people, Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy Thursday demanded that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah sack Shivakumar from the Cabinet.
Kumaraswamy alleged that the 'insensitive' attitude of Shivakumar was on display after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) arrived at Bengaluru Airport following their win in the Indian Premier League, during the felicitation at Vidhana Soudha and at the stadium. 'He was craving publicity even when people were dying,' he told reporters in Delhi.
He said that Shivakumar acted as a 'rowdy' during the incident. 'What was the necessity to hold the (felicitation) event at the grand stairs of Vidhana Soudha? The entire state government made it their family event. It was a show of dadagiri by the deputy CM. Even after knowing that people had died, he participated in the event held inside the stadium,' Kumaraswamy alleged.
BJP state president B Y Vijayendra said that even as TV channels were reporting the deaths, the deputy chief minister was seen kissing the cup at Chinnaswamy Stadium. 'What was the necessity of organising celebrations in front of Vidhana Soudha when an event was already planned at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The government should come clean on whether the decision to celebrate at Vidhana Soudha was taken by the deputy CM or by the CM, and when that decision was made,' he said.
Meanwhile, Shivakumar accused the Opposition parties of playing politics over dead bodies. Turning emotional, Shivakumar said that he had seen the young kids who died. 'No family can digest such an incident,' he said.
On his participation in the program at the stadium after the tragedy, Shivakumar claimed that he did not have plans to attend it despite the invitation offered to him by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA). 'I took the KSCA president and other members of the management in my car, and we closed the program in 10 minutes. I was not aware of the deaths until I reached the stadium… I went there and told them not to hold any function,' he said.
Commenting on the allegations against the government, he said that the Opposition parties were only doing mischief. 'The BJP and the Janata Dal (Secular) always play politics over dead bodies. That is their political agenda. We are deeply hurt. It is as if our own family members have died,' he said.