Was Chief Minister Siddaramaiah kept in the dark over the Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede deaths for more than two hours after the first death was reported?
On June 4, Bengaluru witnessed the horrific deaths of 11 Royal Challengers Bengaluru fans in a stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium during the IPL victory celebrations. However, the opposition parties have alleged that the lives were lost due to the "publicity craze" of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, forcing two back-to-back events - one at the Vidhana Soudha and the other at the stadium, despite the police advising against it citing security concerns.
The ministers and officers had pressed for an exclusive event at the Vidhana Soudha to facilitate their family members to click "selfies" with the RCB players, alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The BJP which had staged a protest in front of the Gandhi statue in Vidhana Soudha on Sunday demanded the resignation of the CM and DCM, and alleged the police commissioner and four others had been made the scapegoat.
Siddaramaiah rubbished BJP's allegations and claimed that he had not been kept in the loop by the police. "I was invited by the chief secretary for the Vidhana Soudha event saying they had the police clearance. I was not invited to the stadium. The stampede took place at the stadium and not at the Vidhana Soudha event. In fact, the first stampede victim was admitted to the hospital around 3.15pm. But I was informed about it only at 5.45pm. Now, who is the head of this government? Shouldn't the commissioner have informed me immediately? There has been serious dereliction of duty by the police and that is exactly why action (suspension) has been taken against the police," said Siddaramaiah.
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The CM's statement clarifying his position in the case comes following Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's claim that Siddaramaiah went ahead with the felicitation of RCB players at Vidhana Soudha even after he came to know of the stampede deaths.
"The CM went to Janardhana hotel with his grandson after the Vidhana Soudha event and was relishing 'masala dosa' and 'basundi' though people had died in the stampede," Kumaraswamy had alleged.
After the CM had claimed he was not aware of the deaths during the felicitation, Kumaraswamy mocked the CM saying it was a reflection of how he was running the government.
Incidentally, Home Minister G. Parameshwara has allegedly expressed his displeasure over "unwanted interference" in his department and has sought a change of portfolio, especially after he was cornered by the opposition over the "poor handling" of the RCB event and its aftermath and earlier, the Mangaluru communal killings incident. Siddaramaiah holds the Intelligence division that comes under the Home department and Shivakumar, who is the Bengaluru Development minister is allegedly trying to control the Home department.
