Congress top brass summons Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar in Bengaluru stampede case

The Congress high command on Monday issued summon to chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar to Delhi in the wake of the stampede near Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium that killed 11 people and injured scores of people. This comes amid signs of a widening rift between the two leaders, with Siddaramaiah indirectly shifting blame toward Shivakumar for the mishap during the IPL victory celebration while the CM pointedly distanced himself from. The stampede occurred on June 4 evening outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium during an event organised to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s win in the IPL (PTI)

“CM Siddaramaiah will meet party leadership in Delhi and will brief them on the latest developments,” a statement from the chief minister’s Office said. Both leaders have been asked to meet Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday morning. While Shivakumar is already in the national capital for a government programme, Siddaramaiah is scheduled to fly to Delhi in the morning.

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The stampede occurred on June 4 evening outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium during an event organised to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s win in the IPL. The chaos left 11 people dead and more than 56 injured. Siddaramaiah did not attend the event at the stadium, which began around 6.10 pm and was attended by Shivakumar. The CM was at the celebration at Vidhana Soudha.

Speaking to reporters in Mysuru on Sunday, Siddaramaiah said he became aware of the deaths only at 5.45 pm, nearly two hours after they were reported at the hospital. “I came to know the deaths happened at 5.45pm. At 3.50pm, deaths were reported at the hospital, but I came to know about it only at 5.45pm. Until that point, I was not aware of deaths taking place due to the stampede. I have taken action against whoever has done wrong,” he said.

Distancing himself from the event and its planning, he said: “The incident happened near the cricket stadium. I have no connection with that. It should not have happened.”

He explained that the event was organised by the cricket association. When asked about any planning meetings or involvement of top leaders, he denied any knowledge. He told reporters, “Neither the Deputy Chief Minister…”, then corrected himself saying, “no, neither the Home Minister, nor I know about it (planning of meetings).”

His remarks have been interpreted by leaders within the party and outside as an attempt to subtly assign responsibility to Shivakumar, who was present at the stadium and has been more closely associated with organising public events.

Meanwhile, deputy CM Shivakumar on Monday accused the BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) of politicising the tragedy. “The BJP and JD(S) are politicising over dead bodies. I feel sorry for them,” he said. On the chief minister’s comments, he offered a cautious response: “I am the deputy CM. Already my CM made some decisions which are best for the future.”

Shivakumar also indicated the government is working on long-term crowd management reforms. “We will come out with an act for crowd management. We will come out with a policy,” he said.

Home minister G Parameshwara said: “The high command has asked us about what happened, and we have provided information over the phone. The high command has not called me either to Delhi or Mumbai.”

He also rejected the speculation that he had asked for a change in his ministerial portfolio. “I have never demanded any specific portfolio from the chief minister. I am clarifying. I have not asked for anything, and no discussion has been held. It is false,” he said.

When asked about the police warning prior to the stampede and the role of the suspended officials, he said, “We have handed over the probe to the one-man justice commission. Until the probe is complete, if we make statements in the media, it will become sub judice.”

He also refrained from commenting on whether he was excluded from the event’s planning. “If I say anything now, it might change the direction of the investigation,” he said.

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