New Delhi: A major political storm broke out following the stampede outside Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, which claimed the lives of at least 11 people while leaving scores injured.
Launching a scathing attack, the BJP accused the ruling Congress of “criminal negligence”. The BJP slammed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and deputy CM DK Shivakumar for downplaying public safety while “shooting reels & hogging limelight with cricketers”.
Taking to X, the Karnataka BJP said: “Many are battling for life after a stampede due to the irresponsibility of Congress govt. No crowd control measures. No basic arrangements. Just chaos. While innocent people died, @siddaramaiah & @DKShivakumar were busy shooting reels & hogging limelight with cricketers. Shame on this photo-op Congress government. This is criminal negligence. Blood is on the hands of Congress govt.”
Karnataka BJP chief BY Vijayendra alleged that the state government pressured the police and organised the celebrations without proper planning or adequate security arrangements.
“The state government should take full responsibility for this tragedy. When the whole country and Karnataka were celebrating RCB’s victory, the state government’s haste to hold a victory rally without any prior preparations led to this tragedy,” he pointed out.
Vijayendra added: “The state government never cared about prior preparations. They were more interested in publicity. This resulted in the death of more than 11 people. Some people are in ICU. I spoke to some victims, there was no police inside, no ambulance facility. The CM should send the matter for judicial investigation.”
Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi said the tragedy “could have been avoided”. He wrote on X: “Such a heartbreaking incident took place due to lack of proper arrangements, planning and crowd management. The Karnataka state government has failed to fulfill its responsibility.”
ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದ ಕಾಲ್ತುಳಿತದಲ್ಲಿ ಸುಮಾರು 10 ಜನರು ಸಾವನ್ನಪ್ಪಿರುವುದು ಹಾಗೂ ಸುಮಾರು 30 ಕ್ಕೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಜನ ಗಂಭೀರವಾಗಿ ಗಾಯಗೊಂಡಿರುವುದು ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ದುರಂತದ ವಿಷಯ. ಸೂಕ್ತ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಗಳು, ಯೋಜನೆ ಮತ್ತು ಜನಸಂದಣಿಯ ನಿರ್ವಹಣೆ ಮಾಡದ ಪರಿಣಾಮ ಇಂತಹ ಹೃದಯವಿದ್ರಾವಕ ಘಟನೆ ನಡೆದಿದೆ.
ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸರ್ಕಾರವು ತನ್ನ ಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿಯನ್ನು… pic.twitter.com/TRX7IFf8xf
— Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) June 4, 2025
Joshi also said the police were forced to accord permission for the RCB felicitation ceremony due to political pressure from the Congress government. He slammed the government for the lapse and for blaming the Karnataka State Cricket Association.
Dubbing the tragedy as an “irreparable loss”, BJP’s IT cell head Amit Malviya said “the stampede broke out due to poor planning and crowd mismanagement”.
Congress goes on the backfoot, orders probe
Reacting to BJP’s strong criticism, the Congress top leadership said the state must review and strengthen its safety measures for such events.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge emphasised that the state government is committed to providing relief, medical aid, and other support to the affected families.
“I am deeply saddened by the tragic stampede in Bengaluru during the celebrations of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL 2025 victory. The loss of precious lives and the injuries sustained by many in this unfortunate incident are profoundly distressing. My thoughts and prayers are with the families who lost loved ones, and I wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” he posted on X.
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi condoled the deaths and said he stands with the people of Bengaluru in their “hour of grief”.
He wrote on X: “This tragedy is a painful reminder: no celebration is worth a human life. Every safety protocol for public events must be reviewed and strictly enforced – lives must always come first.”
The tragic stampede near Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium during RCB’s IPL victory celebrations is heartbreaking.
My condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. Wishing a swift and full recovery to all those injured.
In this hour of grief, I stand with the people of…
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 4, 2025
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah explained: “The turnout was far beyond what we anticipated. In front of Vidhana Soudha, nearly one lakh people had gathered, but there were no incidents there. However, at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, there were casualties. No one, neither the Cricket Association nor the government, expected this, as the stadium has a seating capacity of about 35,000. We assumed only a slightly larger crowd would show up. But almost two to three lakh people gathered.”
The CM has ordered a magisterial investigation into the incident. “I do not want to play politics in this case. That is why, even though there was an unexpected crowd, we have ordered a magisterial probe. I don’t want to defend the incident. Let us see the magisterial report. I will give 15 days for this report,” he said.
