NEW DELHI: The Bhartiya Janata Party on Thursday launched a fierce attack on the Congress-led Karnataka government after the stampede outside Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium during Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) victory march. BJP MP Sambit Patra also demanded arrest of CM Siddaramaiah and deputy CM DK Shivakumar, drawing parallel to grounds of Allu Arjun case.The incident left 11 people dead and over 50 injured, triggered national outrage.At a press conference, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra held Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar directly responsible for the mishandling of the event and demanded their immediate resignation.Patra said, “This happened because of the issues between the CM and the DCM… The DCM said that the capacity of the Chinnaswamy Stadium is 35000, but 3 lakh people were present in the victory march. Why did that happen?… The police did not permit this victory march, so why was it carried out? Who decided to go ahead with it?”“Why was there no coordination between the police and the organisers?… The worst part is, the felicitations continued while people were dying,” he added.Calling the stampede “serious and sorrowful,” Patra said, “This is not only a tragic event for Karnataka but for the entire country. The Prime Minister and many others have expressed their condolences. The BJP also mourns the loss of these 11 innocent lives. We pray for strength to the families of the deceased.”In a sharp escalation, Patra compared the incident with a previous stampede case involving actor Allu Arjun and questioned whether similar accountability would apply to the Karnataka leadership.“Just like Allu Arjun was arrested earlier for being responsible for a stampede, will Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar be arrested today?” Patra asked on social media platform X.He alleged that the stampede was not merely an accident but “a government-manufactured tragedy.”“Look at the audacity of the CM – Siddaramaiah says such stampedes happen everywhere. This is after 11 innocent lives were lost. Kannadigas will not forgive him or the deputy CM. Their internal power tussle cost 11 lives,” he said.Patra held the rushed organisation of the RCB victory event responsible for the disaster. “Just because Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar wanted a photo-op, they hastily put together a grand show within 12 hours. The result? 11 deaths and over 50 injuries.”He raised serious concerns about legal clearances and crowd control at the venue.“If the stadium’s capacity is 35,000, how did 3 lakh people gather? Who gave permission? Where’s the risk assessment and crowd management plan?” Patra asked. “If police permission wasn’t granted, how did the event happen?”Condemning the continuation of celebrations even as the tragedy unfolded, he said, “The worst part was that the felicitation ceremony continued while people were dying outside. This is perhaps the first time India has seen something so shameful. Shame on Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, smiling on stage as people lay crushed outside.”Patra also pointed to a viral video allegedly showing deputy CM Shivakumar pushing aside a person to avoid blocking cameras. “His concern was not crowd safety but PR optics,” he claimed.Citing reports that 25,000 tickets were sold over capacity, Patra called the incident a gross failure of governance. “The CM and Dy CM must resign for the loss of 11 innocent lives,” he demanded.Taking aim at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Patra said, “Where is Rahul Gandhi now? The man who questions the PM and the army every day — why is he silent on this? Doesn’t democracy matter when lives are lost under Congress rule?”Earlier, Siddaramaiah said he would not defend the incident by comparing tragedies elsewhere, including stampede at the Kumbh Mela.Speaking to the media, Siddaramaiah said, “Such incidents happened in so many places. I am not going to defend this by comparing it with them now by saying it happened here and there. In Kumbh Mela, 50–60 people died, I didn’t criticise it.”The CM added that he and his government had refrained from politicising earlier stampedes, unlike others. “If Congress criticises, then that is a different matter. Did I or the Karnataka government criticise?” he asked.Meanwhile, the Karnataka HC has already taken suo motu cognisance of the stampede and is scheduled to hear the matter at 2:30pm today.
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