Bengaluru stampede: BJP demands Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar's resignation, CM points to tragedies under its watch

Indian Express

4 hours ago

The Karnataka BJP Tuesday held a protest at Freedom Park in the city, demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar and Home Minister G Parameshwara over the Bengaluru stampede. During the demonstration, the BJP leaders reiterated their demand for a three-day special Assembly session to discuss the tragedy.
Siddaramaiah, however, hit back at the Opposition by pointing to the tragedies that had taken place during the BJP's rule and said that the party had no moral authority to demand the resignation of leaders in Karnataka. Eleven people were killed in the stampede that took place on June 4 outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium, a day after Royal Challengers Bengaluru won their maiden Indian Premier League title.
After the protest, Leader of Opposition R Ashok said the Karnataka High Court taking up a case suo motu regarding the stampede showed that the court did not trust the government. Commenting on multiple probes launched into the stampede, he said that there was no clarity on any of the investigations announced by the state.
Ashok alleged that people lost their lives as 'CM Siddaramaiah and his family (were) taking photos with cricketers', contending that the government itself invited people to Vidhana Soudha. 'Had they not issued such an invitation, this tragedy would not have occurred,' he said, demanding a three-day special session of the legislature.
Responding to the same, Siddaramaiah issued a statement saying, 'BJP leaders in the state, first, to release a list of BJP leaders who resigned during similar incidents in the past before demanding our resignation.'
Calling the stampede at Chinnaswamy an 'unfortunate accident', he said that the state government had accountability for the incident. 'We have suspended senior police officers, including the Bengaluru city police commissioner, and transferred the chief of the state intelligence department. My political secretary has also been relieved of his duties,' he said.
The protests by BJP leaders, despite measures taken by the government, make it evident that their motives are political and not driven by genuine concern for the people, he said. 'Politicising tragedies is not new to the BJP. It is ingrained in their DNA to pounce like vultures over every incident of death, accident, or violence,' the CM said.
Siddaramaiah said that he felt 'compelled to expose their hypocrisy by bringing certain incidents during the BJP rule to the attention of the people. 'In 2002, during the Gujarat riots, approximately 2,000 innocent people from various communities lost their lives. Despite prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's suggestion to take responsibility and resign, then chief minister Narendra Modi neither stepped down nor expressed any remorse to date. Those demanding our resignation should first address this,' he said.
Siddaramaiah sought accountability over the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the violence in Manipur over the last two years, the Morbi Bridge collapse in Gujarat that claimed 140 lives and the stampede at the Mahakumbh in Uttar Pradesh earlier this year.
'In the stampede case, preliminary action has been taken against those who appeared negligent. A comprehensive and impartial investigation is being conducted under the leadership of a retired judge. Based on the commission's report, strict action will be taken against the culprits without hesitation,' he said.