Siddaramaiah deflects Bengaluru stampede blame, says 'no connection to stadium'
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah attempted to dissociate his government from the Bengaluru stampede tragedy on Sunday, claiming it didn't have 'any connection with the stadium'. Eleven people died and scores sustained injuries after the stampede broke out outside the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru on June 4 during RCB's IPL victory celebrations.
"This incident shouldn't have happened. It happened at the Cricket stadium. I don't have any connection with the cricket stadium," he said at the press conference.
Also read: 'My son will not come back': Father of Bengaluru stampede victim says compensation will go to wife, daughter
Pinning the blame for the stampede on officials, Siddaramaiah also said that this was the first such incident in the state under his leadership and that they have taken action by suspending several officials.
"It was an unfortunate incident, it shouldn't have happened. Such an incident never happened after I became the CM. Prima facie it seems to have happened because of the officials' fault, so we have taken action. Everyone is in pain, including me,' he said.
When asked whether now-suspended Bengaluru Police commissioner B Dayananda was being made a scapegoat, Siddaramaiah said that five other officials have also been suspended.
Highlighting his government's action in response to the stampede, he said, "My political secretary, K Govindaraj, has been removed. We have taken a series of actions, not just the police commissioner alone."
The chief minister also added that it was only at 5.45 pm on June 4 that he got to know about the deaths due to the stampede, while they were reported at the hospital at 3.50 pm.
Also read: Bengaluru stampede: Siddaramaiah says he learned of deaths only at 5.45 pm
'I came to know that deaths happened at 5.45 pm. At 3.50 pm, deaths were reported at the hospital, but I came to know about it only at 5.45 pm. Until that point, I was not aware of deaths taking place due to the stampede,' he said.
Siddaramaiah was not present at the event held at the Chinnaswamy stadium on June 4. However, he did attend the felicitation ceremony for the RCB held in front of Vidhana Soudha on the invitation of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA ) Secretary and Treasurer.
The BJP-led Opposition has demanded the chief minister's resignation.
Last week, the Karnataka government announced a compensation of ₹25 lakh for the families of those who died in the stampede.
With inputs from PTI
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