Expressing deep anguish over the stampede deaths during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) victory celebrations, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of indulging in politics over the people who died in the incident.
“Several people have lost their lives due to the tragic stampede during RCB victory celebrations and their families are mourning. But the insensitive BJP is busy doing politics over dead bodies. The tragedy should not have happened but it took place,” he said on Wednesday.
“This is a time to treat the injured and condole the deaths and not do politics over dead bodies,” the Deputy CM said while speaking to reporters at Chief Minister’s home office Krishna.
“The RCB team had requested an open-vehicle parade from HAL airport itself. But our police officials had advised us against it citing law and order situation. After deliberating it with the Chief Minister, we had decided not to grant permission for any victory parade,” he added.
“The BJP had earlier in the day criticised State Home Minister G. Parameshwara on social, media platform X, calling him inefficient for not allowing victory parade of RCB. The same BJP is now accusing us (Congress) of failure to stop this tragedy. This clearly shows that BJP is doing politics over dead bodies without even allowing families to mourn the deceased,” he said, while criticising the BJP.
The Deputy CM visited the Bowring hospital and met the injured victims.
Speaking to reporters, Deputy CM Shivakumar said, “We had cancelled the victory parade as a precautionary measure, yet the stampede has occurred. My sincere condolences to the families of the victims.”
“The police had taken necessary steps but crowd surged all of a sudden. A lot of people arrived by Metro as well,” he added.
Asked about the criticism by the BJP and the JD-S, he said, “It is the same police who served during their tenure who are serving now.”
Earlier in a post on X, the Deputy CM said, “The people who came to witness RCB’s IPL victory celebration have tragically fallen victim to this tragedy. The loss of lives is deeply painful and shocking. My condolences to the deceased and my sympathies are with the victims’ families. Passion for the game is important, but nothing is greater than life itself. I urge everyone to stay safe.”
The stampede took place when thousands of fans attempted to enter the Chinnaswamy Stadium in a hurry from various gates.
Police at the spot transported the injured individuals to ambulances and shifted them to the nearby Bowring and Vaidehi hospitals.
The Karnataka government had earlier cancelled the RCB’s victory parade from Vidhana Soudha to Chinnaswamy Stadium, citing security reasons.
Police said that they have been controlling the celebrating crowds since Tuesday night. Throughout Tuesday night, police personnel have been engaged in managing them and ensuring no untoward incidents occurred.
The Karnataka government has said that at least 11 people have been killed and more than 30 others injured in the stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The state government has announced Rs 10 lakh compensation for the families of the deceased and also ordered a magisterial probe.
