New Delhi: The Congress high command has taken serious note of the stampede, which dented the image of the state govt, and summoned CM Siddaramaiah to plan a damage-control strategy on Tuesday.
Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, who was in Delhi to visit a solid waste management plant on Monday, will return to Bengaluru late night and again rush to the national capital on Tuesday.
Officially, however, this trip is to meet Union ministers in Delhi. Party leader Rahul Gandhi will hold a meeting with CM and DCM at 11am along with AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, and take a view on the issue.
“It was a sudden call that the CM received on Monday afternoon. While there will be deliberations on the latest developments in Karnataka, the CM and the DCM will give their explanation about the action taken by the govt in the aftermath of the tragedy,” said a senior official from the CMO.
After the stampede, the Congress govt is under attack from all corners. The camps led by the CM, DCM and home minister G Parameshwara appear to have come together in a bid at damage control instead of blaming each other.
It is said Surjewala called Siddaramaiah on Sunday to put together a foolproof plan for crowd control in the state.
Spec ulation over Siddaramaiah mulling over changing Parameshwara’s portfolio and handing the home department to Ramalinga Reddy or MB Patil was denied by the home minister. “Neither I sought the change nor the CM proposed to change my portfolio. It was an unfortunate incident and we have decided to face the challenges in the aftermath, without running away from it.”
The public outcry, espec ially over the lack of political accountability with the govt’s action being limited to the suspension of a few police officials and the sacking of Siddaramaiah’s political secretary, has been the cause of concern fo r the party leadership.
To ensure political stability in Karnataka is particularly critical for the Congress since BJP is looking for a resurgence after suffering a debilitating defeat in 2023.
The bigger worry, obviously, is the prospect of the opposition parties taking advantage of the incident and spreading a negative narrative about the govt. Both BJP and JD(S) have launched attacks on the ruling party and are planning to take the fight all over Karnataka by visiting the families of victims.
Congress sources say Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar likely to meet Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi today at Indira Bhawan in Delhi at 11 AM. Caste census issue is the agenda of the meeting, Bengaluru stampede issue can be discussed too.
