Bengaluru Stampede: BJP Blasts Karnataka Govt, Demands Resignations of CM Siddaramaiah and Dy CM Shivakumar

New Delhi, 5th June 2025: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched a sharp attack on the Congress-led Karnataka government following the tragic stampede outside Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium during Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) victory march, which claimed 11 lives and injured over 50.

At a press briefing, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra held Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar directly responsible for the mishandling of the event, demanding their immediate resignation. Patra questioned the reasons behind allowing an estimated 3 lakh people to gather when the stadium capacity is only 35,000, and why the police did not stop the march despite lacking permission.

“This happened because of issues between the CM and the DCM. The police did not permit this victory march, so why was it carried out? Who decided to go ahead with it?” Patra asked, criticizing the lack of coordination between the police and event organisers.

Condemning the continuation of felicitation ceremonies while people were dying, Patra said, “The worst part is the celebrations continued as people were dying outside. This is perhaps the first time India has witnessed such shameful conduct.”

He also compared the incident with a previous stampede case involving actor Allu Arjun, demanding accountability from Karnataka’s leadership, asking on social media, “Will Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar be arrested today like Allu Arjun was?”

Patra alleged the tragedy was “government-manufactured,” blaming the rushed organisation of the event for political photo opportunities. “Just because Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar wanted a photo-op, they hastily put together a grand show within 12 hours. The result? 11 deaths and over 50 injuries.”

Pointing to reports of 25,000 tickets sold beyond capacity and a viral video showing the Deputy CM prioritising camera angles over crowd safety, Patra called for strict legal action and resignation.

In contrast, CM Siddaramaiah refused to defend the incident by comparison, stating, “Such incidents have happened in many places. I am not going to defend this by comparing it with them.” He emphasised that his government had refrained from politicising previous tragedies.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the stampede and is scheduled to hear the matter today at 2:30 pm.