Bengaluru stampede: BJP to protest on June 17
Bengaluru: The Karnataka unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday said it would hold a protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on June 17 demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar, alleging that they were responsible for the stampede near Chinnaswamy Stadium. The party has also demanded that the Chief Minister should convene an emergency Legislature Session on the stampede that killed 11 people during Royal Challengers Bengaluru's IPL victory celebrations.
Tragedy struck on June 4 when nearly 2.5 lakh fans gathered in and around the Chinnaswamy Stadium to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars, resulting in a stampede that claimed 11 lives and left 56 injured.
Addressing reporters, Mahalakshmi Layout MLA and former Minister K Gopalaiah said all the MLAs, Legislative Council members, district presidents, office bearers and workers of the state will participate in the protest. Gopalaiah said the stampede tragedy was a black spot in the history of Karnataka. 'The Congress government had organised two programmes to honour the players. Although the police department had written to the CM not to hold these events, the CM and the DCM went ahead with the programme,' the BJP MLA said.
On the state government's decision to hold the caste census afresh, he said though he welcomed it, the government was trying to divert public attention from the stampede. Gopalaiah also demanded that the government should make public the details of the taxpayers' money spent on the previous caste census.
Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, on Sunday urged the state government to convene an emergency session of the legislature to discuss the stampede incident. In a letter to CM Siddaramaiah, which he shared with the media, he highlighted that the incident has raised serious questions about public safety, crowd control, and the organisation of sports and other events. 'The tragedy has caused anxiety and concern among the public. Lapses in administration, the government's actions post-incident, and attempts to shield influential individuals have led to widespread doubts,' Ashoka said in his letter.
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