Hand over stampede case to judicial inquiry: BJP leader Ashoka

Bengaluru, Jun 6 (PTI) BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday hit out at the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government for making police officers "scapegoat" for the stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium here that killed 11 people, and alleged that the state government is the "culprit".

He said the party will fight until the case is handed over to a judicial inquiry and the guilty are punished.

Speaking at a press conference, he said the chief minister has kept the state's law and order in the dark. This is the result of the "great socialist, fun-loving" Siddaramaiah.

He alleged that the IPL trophy was in the hands of Congress leaders on the stage during the felicitation function at Vidhana Soudha on June 4 and the players who toiled for years were sidelined.

"Some Congress leaders are calling this celebration a hasty decision. For their own rallies, the Congress made extensive preparations in Bengaluru, even during floods. However, no preparations were made for a sports event involving youths. If even one per cent of the effort put into Congress rallies had been made here, young lives could have been saved," he said.

The BJP leader claimed that, for the first time in Karnataka’s history, a police commissioner has been suspended. People on social media are saying they stand with the police.

"The police carried injured youths to hospitals, but no Congress workers were present. Yet, the police have been suspended. We will continue our political fight until justice is served and against making someone a scapegoat," he said.

Ashoka cited that the police commissioner had denied permission, but the FIR states that the RCB franchise decided to hold the event in the evening (June 4). "This means it was an unauthorised event. If Section 144 had been imposed, no one would have attended. Since it was unauthorised, the programme should have been canceled by imposing that section. The government took action against the police to avoid embarrassment. The government is the culprit, and the guilty are within the government. Who instructed the franchise to hold the event? Who brought the cricketers?" he questioned.

The BJP leader claimed that, despite the police's advice against holding events at two locations, CM Siddaramaiah said the incident (stampede) didn’t happen at Vidhana Soudha but at Chinnaswamy Stadium. Both places are adjacent.

"Despite the police denying permission, the Congress government took the law into its own hands and held the event. Everyone was busy with photo shoots, and no one cared about the people," he said.

He said that initially, they (government) said the district commissioner would investigate. Then, they said the CID would probe. This will be covered up like the MUDA and Valmiki Corporation scams.

"Since the government itself is the culprit, no one from the government should investigate. A judge must conduct the inquiry. We need to know who pressured for permission and who instructed to hold the event. The fight will continue until then," he stated. PTI AMP AMP KH