BJP terms Bengaluru stampede 'govt-manufactured'; asks CM, Dy CM to resign

New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday demanded the resignation of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, holding the Congress government in the state responsible for the Bengaluru stampede.

Eleven people died and 33 were injured in the stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru as thousands of RCB fans gathered to catch a glimpse of the team after their first-ever IPL win.

BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that the "mutual fight and rift" between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar led to the state "government-manufactured stampede".

He recalled last year's arrest of Telugu actor Allu Arjun in a stampede case in Telangana, where the Congress is in power, and asked if the party would follow the same rule in Karnataka and arrest its two senior leaders.

He also slammed Rahul Gandhi and asked him to break his silence on the incident, make the chief minister and the deputy chief minister step down.

Eleven people died and several others sustained critical injuries in the stampede due to a "mutual fight and rift" between the Karnataka chief minister and deputy chief minister, Patra alleged.

"This is clearly the failure of the state government, and the state government will have to own up to it. The chief minister and the deputy chief minister will have to resign for the deaths of 11 innocent people and those who suffered injuries in the incident," he said.

The BJP leader said cricket is like a religion in the country, and victory marches have been organised in the past too, but only after ensuring proper arrangements -- usually three to five days after the event.

"Cricket is a religion in India. Everybody knows that cricket fans will hit the streets to join celebrations... such events should be organised only after proper arrangements are in place," he said.

"But in Karnataka, just because DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah wanted a photo op, they forced this event to be organised within 12 hours (of the team's victory)," he charged.

There was no coordination between the organisers and the police, he said.

"... Look at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's audacity, he is trying to normalise a stampede in which 11 innocent people died. He says such stampedes keep happening in other places.

"And, the worst part was that felicitations continued while the deaths were happening. A celebration was on... Shivakumar was smiling on the stage while people were dying under the stage. You were smiling while standing on dead bodies," Patra charged. Neither Kannadigas nor India will forgive the chief minister and the deputy chief minister," he said.

Taking on Gandhi, the former Congress chief and the current Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Patra said, "Where is Rahul Gandhi, who keeps on making fun of India, speaks against India every day, makes fun of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Army, and says it's his democratic right?"

"Where is he hiding? Will Rahul Gandhi pose questions to D K Shivakumar and Siddharamaiah's tweets (posts on X) on this issue and summon them to Delhi? Will he ask them to resign?" the BJP leader said.

"We are waiting for his response also. We hope Rahul Gandhi, you will come out and speak and take action against your leader since you run the government in Karnataka," he added.

Citing media reports that police had not given permission for the event, Patra said there are many questions that the Karnataka government needs to answer.

"The event was organised even though the police did not give any permission for it. On whose instruction was the event held? Who is responsible for this victory march?" he asked Patra said Shivakumar himself revealed that the stadium could accommodate 35,000 people, but a crowd of 3 lakh had gathered for the event.

"If the capacity of the stadium was 35,000, why did you allow 3 lakh people to join the victory march? Why 25,000 extra tickets were sold?" the BJP leader asked, targeting the Karnataka government.