'Govt evading responsibility for stampede'

The BJP on Friday accused the Congress-led Karnataka government of evading responsibility for the stampede that killed Il people during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) IPL victory celebration on June 4. The party claimed that the state's senior-most leaders used the event for political mileage while ignoring safety protocols.

- Arun Dev

At a press conference in Bengaluru, former deputy chief minister and BJP MLA C.N. Ashwath Narayan called the government's internal report “highly condemnable” and alleged that police officials had warned against the event but were made scapegoats.

“Police officers had opposed the event. Yet they shifted the blame onto the police and RCB,” he said. “Even when people were dying, the Deputy Chief Minister was busy kissing the trophy. And the Chief Minister -- even after learning that people had died -- continued to enjoy masala dosa at a hotel.”

Ashwath Narayan also questioned how a celebration of this scale was organised near Vidhana Soudha without police approval. “Is this government being run by RCB, KSCA, and DNA? They should be ashamed. Taking people's lives has become their ‘achievement’,” he added.