Karnataka CM asks who resigned after Gujarat riots, Morbi bridge collapse, stampede in Maha Kumbh Mela
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah dared the opposition BJP to release a list of leaders who resigned following stampedes in BJP-rules States before demanding that he and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar bow out.
Who resigned after....
State Incident Death CM Year Gujarat Communal riots over 1,000 Narendra Modi 2002 Gujarat Bridge collapse 141 Bhupendra Patel 2022 Manipur Ethnic conflict 258 N Biren Singh 2023- Uttar Pradesh Stampede at Maha Kumbh Mela 37 Yogi Adityanath 2025 J&K Pahalgam terror attack 26 Omar Abdullah 2025
Citing the Gujarat riots in 2002, terrorist attack in Pahalgam in J&K in which 26 persons lost their lives, violence in Manipur, Morbi bridge collapse that claimed 140 lives in Gujarat, and death of 30 pilgrims during the Maha Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh in January 2025, Mr. Siddaramaiah questioned the credibility of the BJP's protest and the demand for his resignation and that of Mr. Shivakumar.
The Chief Minister said a retired judge of the High Court was conducting an investigation into the stampede at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru on June 4 that claimed 11 lives. Based on the commission's report, strict action would be taken against the culprits without hesitation, he said.
In a statement released to the press, Mr. Siddaramaiah stated: 'What happened near Chinnaswamy stadium on June 4, 2025, is an unfortunate accident. As a responsible government, we have taken 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 (Govindaraju, MLC) has also been relieved of his duties. Additionally, we have constituted a one-member commission led by Justice (retired) John Michael D'Cunha to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.'
The State unit of the BJP staged a protest on June 17 demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister and the Deputy CM.
'Despite taking such decisive action, the BJP leaders in Karnataka continue to protest. This makes it evident that their motives are political rather than driven by genuine concern for the people. Politicising tragedies is not new to the BJP,' Mr. Siddaramaiah said.
'We empathise with the grief and anguish of the families affected by every tragedy. This is why we do not exploit such incidents for political gain. However, given the BJP leaders' repeated attempts to incite the public by dredging up these incidents, we feel compelled to expose their hypocrisy by bringing certain incidents during their rule to the attention of the people,' he said.
Siddaramaiah questions BJP about deaths in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur
Recalling past incidents, Mr. Siddaramaiah said, 'During the Gujarat riots in 2002, approximately 2,000 innocent persons from various communities lost their lives. Despite then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's suggestion to take responsibility and resign, then Chief Minister Narendra Modi neither stepped down nor expressed any remorse till date.
'In April this year, during the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in J&K, 26 persons lost their lives. 'Our party did not demand the resignation of the Prime Minister over this incident. We merely requested a special parliamentary session to discuss the attack, which was denied by the Prime Minister. Even now, the perpetrators of this attack have not been identified. Isn't this a failure of the Central Government? Who is accountable for this failure? Is it Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Rahul Gandhi, or Prime Minister Narendra Modi?'
Mr. Siddaramiah said, 'For the past two years, Manipur has been engulfed in violence. Hundreds have lost their lives, yet Chief Minister Biren Singh clung to power for 20 months. He resigned only after the Supreme Court intervened, but violence continues to plague the State. Shouldn't the Union Home Minister take responsibility for this?
'In Gujarat, the Morbi bridge collapse claimed 140 lives. In January this year, 30 pilgrims lost their lives during the Maha Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh. Were the Chief Ministers of those States not from the BJP? Not only did they not resign, but those governments have also not conducted a proper investigation into these incidents. Given this, what moral authority does the BJP have to demand our resignation?'
Mr. Siddaramaiah urged the BJP leaders in Karnataka to 'abandon their street theatrics and act in accordance with their conscience'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
29 minutes ago
- India Today
Nitish Kumar not in control of Bihar, people see me as Chief Minister: Tejashwi Yadav
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav launched a strong attack on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying that he had entered an "unconscious state". Tejashwi Yadav also accused Nitish Kumar's government of nepotism, alleging that important positions in the administration were being handed out to relatives of senior to India Today/Aaj Tak in the run-up to the Bihar assembly election likely to take place later this year, Tejashwi Yadav also claimed that the people of Bihar want him to be the next Chief Minister and that Nitish Kumar was no longer in control of the want to become CM. I am the top choice for CM among the people of Bihar,' Tejashwi said, claiming that he believes the public is with him. "I am constantly among the people, and that's why they see me as the best choice." The former deputy Chief Minister repeatedly said that Nitish Kumar is in an 'unconscious state' politically and claimed that others around him are taking advantage. 'Officers and leaders close to him are busy giving posts and benefits to their own family members,' Tejashwi said, alleging nepotism in state accused the government of giving positions to relatives of ministers and top officers, adding that there should be a 'Jamai Commission' (for sons-in-law), 'Jija Commission' (for brothers-in-law), and 'Mehraru Commission' (for wives), mocking what he called open nepotism in the RJD leader cited examples of several leaders, including Jitan Ram Manjhi, whose son's brother-in-law is in a government body; Chirag Paswan, whose brother-in-law has been given a post; and the wife of the Chief Minister's principal secretary, who is in the Bihar Women's further said that two daughters of Janta Dal United (JDU) leader Sanjay Jha were made Advocates-on-Record for the state in the Supreme Court without proper Yadav further alleged that Ashok Chaudhary's son-in-law was appointed to the Bihar State Religious Trust Council, allegedly from the 'RSS quota.' 'If he was so capable, why was he not chosen before he became Ashok Chaudhary's son-in-law?' he a recent controversy sparked by BJP leader Samrat Chaudhary criticising Lalu Yadav for cutting a cake with a sword, Tejashwi questioned, 'What's the difference between a knife and a sword? Don't Samrat Chaudhary's children use a knife to cut a cake? Or do they swallow it whole?'Tejashwi further defended his father against claims that he insulted Dr B R Ambedkar by allegeldy placing his feet near a photo of the Dalit icon. He said the photo controversy was falsely concocted and that Lalu Prasad had installed more Ambedkar statues in Bihar than anyone to health reasons, Laluji was told not to touch anything after his surgery. That's why he didn't touch the photo.'Tejashwni went on to criticise the delay in the national caste census and accused the BJP of spreading lies on the matter. 'If the notification has already come, why is the process not starting?' he RJD leader also voiced his support for higher reservations and said that the reservation system should be expanded to include private in a veiled challenge to Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan, Tejashwi said he should speak up if he wants to be Chief Minister. 'He should not hide it in his heart. He should say it openly,' Tejashwi said.'No one is stopping him from contesting. If Chirag wants to contest elections in Bihar, he should do so openly and not suppress his desire. He should say in his wish that he wants to become CM.'Bihar is set to hold Assembly Elections this year, likely before the Chhath and Diwali festivals. The polls are likely to be held in 2-3 phases. The poll dates will be finalised after the Chief Election Commissioner's visit to the state this Watch
The Hindu
36 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Sharad Pawar puts a full stop to speculation on reunion with Ajit Pawar's NCP
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) supremo Sharad Pawar on Tuesday (June 17, 2025) put the brakes on speculation about a possible merger between the two factions of the NCP in Maharashtra, saying his party would not align with anyone who had joined hands with the BJP for power. Also Read | Sharad Pawar downplays meetings with nephew Ajit, says nothing wrong in discussing people's issues 'We won't come together with those who joined hands with the BJP. We can only be with people who believe in the ideology of Gandhi, Shahu, Phule and Ambedkar,' said the former Chief Minister, addressing party workers in Pimpri-Chinchwad in Pune district. His statement comes amid growing speculation of NCP-SP and his nephew Ajit Pawar's NCP reunion, ahead of the upcoming local polls in the State. Mr. Pawar and Ajit Pawar were seen sharing the stage on several occasions, fuelling the rumours. Without taking the name of Mr. Ajit Pawar, he said, 'I don't want to encourage the politics of opportunism.' Those who partner with the BJP cannot have the thought process of the NCP, he said. Mr. Ajit Pawar, along with a few leaders, had joined the BJP-led government in Maharashtra, causing a split in the NCP in July 2023. In the Lok Sabha election held in June 2024, the NCP-SP was ahead in the race but suffered a setback in the Assembly election held in November 2024. Now, with the upcoming local polls, party functionaries and former corporators are shuffling between parties. Several former corporators — including Ajit Gavhane, an NCP-SP candidate who contested the Maharashtra Assembly election from Bhosari, Pune — are set to join the NCP. Mr. Pawar told party workers 'not to worry'. 'Don't worry about who is leaving, focus on preparation and winning elections, we will take everyone who follows the thought process of Shahu-Ambedkar-Phule-Gandhi,' he said. Giving an example of how a comeback can be made, Mr. Pawar said, 'I remember becoming the Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 1978, only to see our government dismissed in 1980. In the next election, our party won 70 seats. However, during my trip to England for ten days, all 70 MLAs, except six, defected from the party. I was surprised to see mass defection as our workers worked hard for these MLAs. Still, I did not lose hope, and I increased my contact with people,' he said. He said the party's MLAs later won and the party became one of the important in the Maharashtra Assembly.
India Today
37 minutes ago
- India Today
Siddaramaiah's son hits out at Congress for blocking Karnataka caste survey
Congress MLC and son of Karnataka Chief Minister, Yathindra Siddaramaiah, criticised his own party for failing to implement the findings of the caste survey in the state. He blamed resistance from influential individuals within certain communities for blocking the release and implementation of the report, accusing them of using minor objections as justification.'If we had released and implemented the caste survey, it would have strengthened the backward class communities. These communities have been marginalised for a long time, and the survey could have paved the way for increased reservation for them,' Yathindra alleged that despite the potential of the survey to bring structural benefits to historically disadvantaged groups, some influential people from particular communities had opposed it. 'They have cited trivial reasons, like it is a 10-year-old survey, that the entire population wasn't covered and did not allow to implement it,' he added. His remarks come following the Karnataka Cabinet's unanimous decision to carry out a fresh Socio-Economic and Education Survey, popularly referred to as the 'Karnataka caste census', ten years after the original survey was undertaken in 2015. On June 12, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who had initiated the original survey during his previous tenure, said the decision followed recommendations from the state's Backward Classes Commission and legal provisions under the Backward Classes Act, 1995, which mandates a fresh survey every decade. advertisementPolitical shifts, including the refusal of former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and later the BJP government to accept the 2015 report, delayed its implementation. With the final recommendations submitted in February this year, the Cabinet has now resolved to authorise a new survey to be completed within 90 days. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said the updated survey would reflect changing demographics and socio-economic conditions, with provisions for online participation by Kannadigas outside the state. IN THIS STORY#Karnataka#Bengaluru
