Bengaluru Stampede Row Escalates as Complaint Filed Against CM Siddaramaiah with Governor

On Saturday, Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot received a formal complaint against chief minister Siddaramaiah due to negligence which led to the tragedy of the June 4 stampede near the Chinnaswamy stadium which resulted in the deaths of 11 people. At the same time, the chief minister's designated opposition party, the BJP, has ramped up its criticism of Congress's leadership in the state.

In his complaint to Governor Gehlot, Girish Kumar, a resident of Kottigepalya, Bengaluru, claimed that the chief minister invited the citizens to join him in celebrating RCB's (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) IPL victory, but did not provide the necessary safety measures.

Additionally, the complaint questioned the rationale of the state government hosting an elaborate celebration for a private cricket club, namely the RCB, on the grounds that its constitution was rooted in commercialism when the IPL is tied to the profit motive and not to the pride of the nation.

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“Players are bought by franchises and play for money, not for the country or the state,” the letter alleged. He emphasised that the state has never afforded celebrations of this magnitude for its national heroes, such as soldiers or Olympic athletes.

The complaint also criticized deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar "as excessive and unnecessary" for welcoming the RCB team at the airport and argued that "the government had failed in its duty to protect the public and demanded accountability of all individuals responsible for the gross mismanagement."

The stampede that occurred on the evening of June 4 occurred outside the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru as people flocked to participate in the celebrations of the RCB team's historic victory in the IPL. The stampede resulted in a minimum of 11 deaths and 56 injuries.

Meanwhile, the one-member inquiry commission formed by the state government led by retired high court judge John Michael Cunha to investigate the stampede has been tasked with identifying individuals responsible for the failure to act or inadequacy that created this incident.

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A political tussle over the incident is also continuing with senior BJP politician and Union minister of state Shobha Karandlaje claimed that CM Siddaramiah and his deputy Shivakumar have “blood on their hands”, directly linking the two men to the stampede and calling for their resignation. “The parents who have lost their children are cursing. They (CM and DCM) are trying to wash the blood on their hands and smear it on the police officers,” Karandlaje claimed.

Taking to social media, CM Siddaramaiah on Saturday said, “I have ordered an increase in the compensation announced for the families of those who died in the stampede at Chinnaswamy Stadium from ₹10 lakh each to ₹25 lakh.”

The announcement for increased compensation comes even as family members of the victims claimed that no one has come to see them to date. “We are a very poor family... It has been three days since my son died, but not a single official has visited our home. We have received no help from the government either,” Mariyamma, mother of Shiva Linga, who died in the stampede, told reporters.

Meanwhile, Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) president Raghuram Bhat said the resignation of secretary A Shankar and treasurer ES Jairam was accepted in an emergency meeting but the rest of the managing committee will not be dissolved at this stage. The emergency meeting was called after the two senior officials resigned from their post via a letter to the KSCA president, taking moral responsibility for the stampede, a situation that unfolded at a public event.

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