In the wake of the tragic stampede during IPL celebrations outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar responded to mounting criticism, particularly from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), by defending the state government’s response and accusing the opposition of politicizing the tragedy.
Speaking to the media, DK Shivakumar emphasized the government's prompt action: “My Chief Minister was kind enough to announce a judicial inquiry... Action has been taken on some of them. Investigation is underway... The government has done its best to give justice, and we will come up with a plan of action to ensure that such events don't happen in future.”
The tragedy, which resulted in the deaths of at least 11 people, has sparked outrage and calls for accountability, with the BJP demanding the resignation of Shivakumar. Responding to this demand, the Deputy CM hit back at the opposition for exploiting the situation for political gain.
“Let them (BJP) demand (my resignation). They (BJP) are trying to do politics on the dead bodies. We don't want to do politics...” he said.
The state government has faced backlash over alleged mismanagement of crowd control during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru IPL victory celebration, which saw tens of thousands of fans gather outside the stadium.
