The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a scathing attack on the Congress-led Karnataka government, demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, and Home Minister G Parameshwara following a tragic stampede that occurred outside Chinnaswamy Stadium during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) IPL victory celebrations, which claimed 11 lives and left over 30 injured.
BJP MLA CN Ashwath Narayan alleged gross negligence and “irresponsibility” by the state leadership, saying, “People lost their lives due to the irresponsibility of the Congress government, particularly the CM, Dy CM, and Home Minister.”
Narayan also rejected the government’s compensation of ₹25 lakh per deceased victim’s family, calling it inadequate and “charity,” and demanded criminal accountability. “If justice and a system existed, FIRs should have been filed against the CM, Dy CM, and Home Minister,” he said. He also urged RCB to provide “decent compensation” to the bereaved families.
Earlier in the day, BJP leaders staged a protest at the Mahatma Gandhi statue outside Vidhana Soudha, accusing the state leadership of prioritising photo opportunities over public safety. Deputy Leader of Opposition Arvind Bellad alleged that senior leaders were “busy taking selfies” with RCB players while the police force was diverted away from managing the crowd.
“Because they wanted to celebrate with the RCB team, all police attention was on the VIPs. There was no crowd control. The result: 11 deaths and dozens injured,” Bellad said, holding both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar “directly responsible.”
BJP National General Secretary CT Ravi also demanded accountability, stating, “Is it politics to ask who is responsible for 11 deaths? Was RCB called to Vidhana Soudha for political gain? This is a tragedy caused by political arrogance.”
In response, CM Siddaramaiah increased the compensation from ₹10 lakh to ₹25 lakh for each victim’s family and promised further assistance. Meanwhile, Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) officials—Secretary A Shankar and Treasurer ES Jairam—have resigned, citing “moral responsibility” for the incident that occurred ahead of the team’s public felicitation event following their historic IPL title win.
The tragedy has sparked a wider debate over political accountability, crowd management, and the conduct of high-profile public celebrations.