BJP holds CM, Dy CM, HM responsible for Bengaluru stampede deaths

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, January 7, 2025: The Bharatiya Janata Party staged a protest in Mangaluru holding the Congress government responsible for the death of 11 persons in the stampede during RCB victory celebrations Bengaluru on June 4.

D. Vedavyasa Kamath, Mangaluru City South MLA, said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar and Home Minister G. Parameshwara should resign owning responsibility for the deaths and injuries to many.  The police should register a case against them by naming them as accused, he said.

The MLA said the Chief Minister himself, through a social media post, had invited people to attend the victory celebrations. After inviting people, the police were made to cane them. Now Mr. Siddaramaiah was blaming the police for the incident and had suspended senior officials, he alleged.

“Mr. Siddaramaiah who had sought the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Pahalgam attack now should resign owning responsibility for the stampede deaths,” the MLA said.

Mr. Kamath said that Mr. Siddaramaiah, who had criticised Maha Kumbh Mela attended by crores of people, could not control the gathering of about two lakh people at the victory celebrations.

Hasty decision of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister resulted in the death of innocent people, Mr. Kamath alleged.

The BJP workers burnt the posters of Mr. Siddaramaiah, Mr. Shivakumar and Mr. Parameshwara at the protest.

Meanwhile, in a statement on Friday, Udupi MLA Yashpal Suvarna said that Siddaramaiah-led State government had made senior police officials scapegoats to cover up its failure, following the nationwide outrage over the stampede at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Mr. Suvarna said that even Deputy Chief Minister himself had stated that the police were not responsible for the incident. Yet, the Chief Minister, bowing to pressure from the party high command and in an attempt to safeguard the government’s image, suspended senior police officials, he alleged.

He said that the government was deliberately weakening the morale of the police department.