Bengaluru Stampede: Kumaraswamy urges CM to fire Shivakumar

Union Heavy Industries & Steel Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Wednesday alleged that Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar was responsible for the tragic stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru that claimed the lives of 11 cricket fans.

Addressing a late-night press conference at his official residence in New Delhi, the Union Minister urged chief minister Siddaramaiah to sack Shivakumar holding him responsible for the tragedy.

He criticized the current government in Karnataka as being run by "arrogant fools" and added, “It pains me to say this, but we have a Chief Minister who is completely inactive. He has no control over the Deputy CM. As for the Home Minister, there’s no point even discussing, he merely obeys commands. If told to sit, he sits; if told to stand, he stands.”


Referring to the government's felicitation event near Vidhana Soudha, Kumaraswamy said, “While four people lay dead in a stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Shivakumar continued with the felicitation ceremony as if nothing had happened. How else do you describe such a government other than calling it an arrogant one?”

Kumaraswamy expressed dismay over the state’s haste in organizing a felicitation: “On Tuesday night, the team won the IPL trophy. What was the rush to organize a felicitation event immediately? Who invited the team? Why this urgency? Everyone knows the role the Deputy CM played in all this,” he lashed out.

“Why hold two separate events? One program, well-organized with proper preparation, would have been enough. There should have been appropriate security and caution. Instead, everything was rushed simply to glorify himself. As a result of this recklessness, sports fans lost their lives,” he said.

Kumaraswamy criticized the Dy CM’s conduct at the stadium, saying:
“After his show at Vidhana Soudha, the DCM reached the stadium. Right outside the stadium lay the bodies of the deceased. Rather than stopping the event, he walked into the ground, lifted the trophy, and kissed it. Did he play the match and win the cup himself? Perhaps even the players didn’t get the opportunity to touch the trophy. In the midst of deaths, he used RCB’s win for his own PR and self-glorification.”

“This kind of recklessness cannot be tolerated. If the Chief Minister truly has any strength, courage, or leadership, he should start by removing such a person from his cabinet,” the Union Minister demanded.