‘Stampede was state-orchestrated’: Bengaluru MP Tejasvi Surya slams Siddaramaiah government

Bengaluru MP Tejasvi Surya accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar of turning the event into a "family function".

Bengaluru MP Tejasvi Surya has launched a scathing attack on Congress-led Karnataka government over the stampede outside Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium that left 11 people dead during Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL victory celebration.

Tejasvi Surya also questioned the value of the magisterial inquiry ordered by the government.

Surya blamed the state government, alleging that the Chief Minister's open invitation to fans without adequate planning and security led to the tragedy.

"The stampede was completely avoidable. It was state-orchestrated," he said while speaking to ANI. "Yesterday, the CM put out a tweet giving an open invitation to everyone, knowing fully well the frenzy of fans. He gave this invitation without making proper arrangements for security, safety, and crowd control."

The Bengaluru South MP accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar of turning the event into a "family function" for Congress leaders. He said the government should take full responsibility for the tragedy and demanded financial compensation for the victims' families.

"Lives that have been lost cannot be brought back," Surya said. "The state government must own up and cover all expenses for the injured and compensate the families who have lost their loved ones."

Surya also questioned the value of the magisterial inquiry ordered by the government. "Will this 15-day report help these families? Keep this 15-day report yourself in your house. Who cares?"

He urged the RCB management and players to step up as well. "No other team enjoys the kind of loyalty RCB does. Bengalurians treat RCB as family. The cricketers have made hundreds of crores from fans' love over the years. It's now their moral responsibility to support these families."

Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy also criticised the state government, blaming Deputy CM DK Shivakumar directly. He said Shivakumar's "impatience, immaturity, and irresponsibility" caused the stampede.

"The person responsible must be immediately sacked from the cabinet," he said during a press conference in New Delhi. He added that the state was being run by "arrogant fools" and criticised the Chief Minister's lack of control over the situation.

DK Shivakumar apology

Deputy CM DK Shivakumar later apologised, acknowledging that the situation spiralled out of control. "We never expected such a big crowd. The stadium's capacity is 35,000, but more than 3 lakh people showed up. Gates were broken…We apologise for this incident," he said. He also accused the BJP of politicising the tragedy.

"All government events scheduled for Thursday have been postponed, except for the cabinet meeting," he added.

Shivakumar defended the police, saying they helped avert bigger chaos. “I compliment the police officers. They guided us. At Vidhana Soudha, we were very cautious.”