The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday alleged that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar forced the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchise to take the victory march in haste, resulting in the loss of 11 lives in the Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede in Bangalore.
Addressing a press briefing at the party headquarters in Delhi, BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra said: “BCCI President and IPL Chairman said they were unaware of any such event. Victory marches have been carried out previously as well. But the victory parades were always held at least 2 days after the victory. This time gap is needed to make proper crowd management arrangements.”
He further claimed: “The CM and Deputy CM forced the team for a victory march, and all these arrangements were made in just 12 hours, and the result was the death of 11 people.”
Referring to the arrest of actor Allu Arjun after a stampede during the screening of his movie, Patra asked whether the same principle would be followed and whether CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy would be arrested.
“When a stampede occurred during the screening of Allu Arjun’s movie, he was arrested. On the same principle of Allu Arjun’s arrest, will DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah be arrested?”
However, Karnataka Home Minister G Parmeshwara dismissed the BJP’s allegations, saying the RCB franchise and the Karnataka Cricket Association organised the victory celebrations, not the government.
“The CM has ordered a magisterial inquiry. Let the report of the inquiry come to the government, and if there was any lapse, then action will be initiated against whoever is found responsible. We did not request RCB or the KCA, they organised it (the victory celebration). They are the ones who brought the team to Bengaluru.”
However, he added, “The government also felt it should facilitate this, as it was the Bengaluru team. I feel very sorry that this incident happened.”
At least 11 people were killed and 33 others were wounded, some of them critically, in the stampede during the celebrations of RCB’s title victory in the Indian Premier League 2025.
Following the tragic incident, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah ordered a magisterial inquiry and announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the kin of the deceased.
Advertisement
