Bengaluru stampede: Congress accuses BJP of ‘politicising tragedy’ says ‘not reported deaths’ during Kumbh 2025 stampede

NEW DELHI: In the wake of the recent stampede in Bengaluru and mounting pressure from the BJP demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Congress MP Manickam Tagore has firmly defended the state leadership and accused the BJP of politicising the incident.

The Congress MP also drew a sharp contrast between the current administration’s transparency and the BJP’s handling of the stampede incident during Kumbh Mela 2025 and accused them of not reporting the deaths.

Addressing reporters in Delhi on Wednesday, Congress MP Manickam Tagore expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy and said, “We all know that it was a very sad tragedy. A one-man judicial commission has been appointed, an honest judge has been appointed as the one-man commission.

#WATCH | Delhi: On Bengaluru stampede and BJP demanding Karnataka CM’s resignation, Congress MP Manickam Tagore says, “We all know that it was a very sad tragedy. A one-man judicial commission has been appointed, an honest judge has been appointed as the one-man commission.… pic.twitter.com/yM3d4YZBHR

— ANI (@ANI) June 11, 2025

Already, the action has been taken on the City Police Commissioner and other officers concerned. The one-man commission will go into all the details and they will submit a report.”

“We should not do politics before that. We all know that BJP wants to do politics over that issue. But people of Karnataka are very clever. As Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge mentioned, we are not like BJP, which runs away from the real issues. They were not ready to report the deaths in Kumbh Mela (stampede). They did not appoint a judicial commission, no kind of inquiry was done. So, we are not like that. We always want the truth to come out,” he added.

Reiterating the Congress party’s commitment to responsible governance, he highlighted the experience of CM Siddaramaiah.

“The administration of Congress party in Karnataka is people-oriented and we know that CM is a leader who has experience of administration. So, he has appointed a one-man commission. Let the one-man commission submit a report and let the Govt take action,” he added.

The Bengaluru stampede, which led to 11 casualties, has triggered a political storm in the state, with BJP leaders demanding accountability and the Chief Minister’s resignation.

The Karnataka Government on June 5 suspended top police officials at the Cubbon Park Police Station and formed a one-man commission under a retired High Court Judge to probe the incident. (ANI)