Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah defends his response to the June 4 Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede, drawing comparisons with the Air India crash and rejecting calls for his resignation.
BENGALURU
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday addressed the Assembly over the tragic stampede outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4, expressing deep distress over the loss of lives and the grief faced by families. Responding to the BJP’s demand for his resignation, he questioned the party’s approach, citing other national tragedies.
“In the Air India crash, did anyone from the NDA or BJP resign? Were those not people who died? Then why is the BJP asking for our resignation over this stampede?” Siddaramaiah asked, highlighting the inconsistency in political accountability.
The Chief Minister admitted he had gone to a hotel with his grandson on the day of the incident. “It is true, I went. My grandson had come from London, and we had gone for the Vidhana Soudha RCB event. At 5.30 pm, I learnt of the incident and immediately called the commissioner. Initially, I was told one person had died, but by then 11 had lost their lives,” he explained.
Siddaramaiah detailed the steps taken after the tragedy, including ordering a Deputy Commissioner’s inquiry on June 4, a one-man commission inquiry on June 5, and receiving reports from Justice D’Cunha and the Deputy Commissioner by July 10–11. He noted that 20 stampedes had occurred in Karnataka over the past decade.
However, BJP leaders rejected his explanations. Leader of Opposition R Ashoka called the response “unacceptable,” asserting that Siddaramaiah and others were the main culprits. BJP state president BY Vijayendra accused the Chief Minister of shifting blame onto the police, RCB, and DNA, questioning why the government accepted the resignation of Siddaramaiah’s political secretary if it bore no responsibility.
The debate underscores heightened political tensions in Karnataka, with the stampede continuing to evoke criticism of administrative accountability and governance.
