New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Congress government in Karnataka over the stampede at the RCB victory parade in Bengaluru, calling it a “state-sponsored man-made tragedy”. At least 11 people were killed whereas nearly 50 people were injured in the tragedy on Wednesday. BJP leaders criticised chief minister Siddaramaiah for drawing a comparison with the Kumbh Mela stampede and accused the state government of apathy, mismanagement, and politicising the tragedy.
Reacting to the incident, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla accused the Congress government of showing “arrogance after apathy” and “delusion after disaster”.
‘Celebration turned into catastrophe’
“What should have been a celebration turned into a catastrophe. It is a state-sponsored man-made tragedy for which Congress is entirely responsible,” Poonawalla said while talking to news agency ANI. “The chief minister is trivialising the incident by comparing it with the Kumbh stampede. Instead of accepting responsibility, the Congress is blaming the people. They continued the show even as lives were being lost,” he added.
BJP MP from Bengaluru South, Tejasvi Surya, also hit out at the state leadership, alleging the government orchestrated the event without proper preparations.
“This stampede was completely avoidable. The CM tweeted an open invitation without any crowd control plan. The entire event was turned into a family function of Congress leaders. If anyone is responsible, it is the CM and Deputy CM,” Surya said, adding that the government must offer generous compensation to the victims’ families. Surya was speaking to reporters from Washington, DC.
‘Poor planning and lack of crowd management’
Union minister Pralhad Joshi, in a post on X, expressed grief over the loss of lives and injuries sustained during the incident, saying that it occurred due to poor planning and lack of crowd management.
“Celebrations are natural, but without proper arrangements and emergency services, such tragedies are inevitable. The state government has failed in its responsibility and must be held accountable,” Joshi wrote in Kannada.
Meanwhile, deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar has apologised for the tragedy and said the government was unprepared for the unexpectedly large turnout. “The stadium’s capacity is 35,000, but over three lakh people showed up. Gates were broken. We apologise for this incident,” he said.
However, he also accused the BJP of politicising the matter. “We are sorry for the loss. We will take corrective measures. But BJP is doing politics over the tragedy,” Shivakumar added.
