‘There should have been appropriate security, caution’: HD Kumaraswamy on B’luru stampede

NEW DELHI: Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy has accused Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar of being responsible for the stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru that claimed the lives of 11 and injured 30 others.

Kumaraswamy alleged that the incident was caused by the Deputy Chief Minister’s “impatience, immaturity, and irresponsibility”. Addressing a late-night press conference at his official residence in New Delhi on Wednesday, the Union Minister demanded that “the person responsible for this tragedy must be immediately sacked from the cabinet.”

He criticised the Congress government in Karnataka as being run by “arrogant fools” and said, “We have a Chief Minister who is completely inactive. He has no control over the Deputy CM. As for the State Home Minister, there’s no point in discussing it. He merely obeys commands.”

#WATCH | Delhi | Bengaluru stampede | Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy says, “…I advise him not to compare the Maha Kumbh with this incident. This is the failure of the government… Police officials had already advised when they wanted to hold felicitation functions in front of… pic.twitter.com/KlOB0zwfax

— ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2025

Referring to the government’s felicitation event near Vidhana Soudha, Kumaraswamy said, “While people lay dead in a stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium, DK Shivakumar continued with the felicitation ceremony as if nothing had happened. How else do you describe such a government other than calling it an arrogant one?”

Kumaraswamy expressed dismay over the state’s haste in organising a felicitation and said, “On Tuesday night, the team won the IPL trophy. What was the rush to organise a felicitation event immediately? Who invited the team? Why this urgency? Everyone knows the role the Deputy CM played in all this,” he stated.

“Who rushed to the airport on Wednesday morning to receive the team? Who turned it into an event? It was just the Deputy CM and his entourage. Was this the DK Shivakumar RCB team?” Kumaraswamy questioned sarcastically.

“Why hold two separate events? One program, well-organised with proper preparation, would have been enough. There should have been appropriate security and caution. Instead, everything was rushed simply to glorify himself. As a result of this recklessness, sports fans lost their lives,” he said.

Kumaraswamy criticised the DCM’s conduct at the stadium and said, “After his show at Vidhana Soudha, the Deputy CM reached the stadium. Right outside the stadium lay the bodies of the deceased. Rather than stopping the event, he walked onto the ground, lifted the trophy, and kissed it. Did he play the match and win the cup himself? Perhaps even the players didn’t get the opportunity to touch the trophy. In the midst of deaths, he used RCB’s win for his own PR and self-glorification.”

“This kind of recklessness cannot be tolerated. If the Chief Minister truly has any strength, courage, or leadership, he should start by removing such a person from his cabinet,” the Union Minister demanded.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar complimented the state police force for controlling the massive influx of people during the RCB celebrations.

“Again, I’m telling on record. I should compliment my police officers…morning also, they wanted to have a procession, they wanted to bring a vehicle from the airport itself…Police guided us not to…that’s why I rushed to the airport and ensured nothing went wrong…in Vidhana Soudha, also we were very cautious…,” DK Shivakumar said.

“We never expected such an incident to happen. No political party or official wanted this. They did their best, but there was an uncontrollable crowd,” he added. The Karnataka DyCM also announced postponing all programmes except the cabinet meeting on June 5.

After the incident, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah addressed a press conference and said 11 people died and 33 were injured in the stampede.CM Siddaramaiah said that the government will also provide free treatment to the injured.

“A major tragedy occurred during the victory celebrations. It happened near the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The government has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the deceased. The government will provide free treatment to the injured.”

IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal has expressed his condolences to families who lost their members in the stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday and said BCCI had no information that such an event was being planned.

“This is a very unfortunate incident… We had no information that such an event was being planned… If such events are planned in the future, then proper arrangements should be made… Those who were sitting inside the stadium had no information about the incident,” Arun Dhumal told ANI. (ANI)