In the wake of the tragic stampede during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) IPL victory celebrations that claimed 11 lives and injured over 30 people, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has expressed deep sorrow and criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for allegedly politicising the tragedy.Speaking to the media at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s official residence, Shivakumar said,
“While families are mourning the sudden loss of their loved ones, the BJP is shamelessly engaging in politics over dead bodies. This is a time for compassion and support—not political mudslinging.” The Deputy CM reiterated that the state government, after consultations with police officials and the Chief Minister, had proactively denied permission for an open-vehicle parade requested by the RCB team, citing potential law and order risks.
“Despite our preventive steps, an unfortunate incident occurred due to an overwhelming crowd surge. We had called off the parade precisely to avoid such a situation,” he explained. Responding to BJP’s earlier criticism of Karnataka Home Minister Dr. G. Parameshwara for not allowing the parade, Shivakumar accused the party of hypocrisy.
“First, they blamed us for cancelling the celebration; now they’re blaming us for the tragedy. It’s clear that the BJP is exploiting this moment of grief for political gain,” he said. Shivakumar visited the injured victims at Bowring Hospital, offering his condolences and assuring medical support. “The police were prepared, but the crowd grew beyond expectations, with many arriving via Metro and other modes of transport,” he said.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Deputy CM wrote:
“The loss of lives is heartbreaking and unacceptable. My prayers are with the grieving families. Let us remember that while cricket is a passion, no celebration is worth a human life. I urge everyone to prioritise safety and responsibility.”
The stampede took place outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium when thousands of fans surged through various gates in an attempt to join the celebration. The injured were immediately taken to Bowring and Vaidehi hospitals for treatment. Despite the earlier cancellation of the official parade from Vidhana Soudha to Chinnaswamy Stadium, fans had begun assembling near the stadium from Tuesday night. Police deployed on-site struggled to contain the sudden swell of attendees. The Karnataka government has announced an ex gratia of ₹10 lakh for the families of the deceased and ordered a magisterial probe into the incident.
“The same police force was in service under the previous BJP-JD(S) regime. Blaming them now is unfair. We must focus on ensuring such tragedies do not happen again,” Shivakumar added.
