In a scathing attack on the Congress-led Karnataka government, Union Minister and JDS MP from Mandya, HD Kumaraswamy, on Friday called the suspension of five senior police officers following the Bengaluru IPL celebration stampede a “blunder,” insisting the tragedy was a direct result of “arrogant and image-obsessed” governance.

Speaking to the media in Delhi, Kumaraswamy did not mince words, holding Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar personally accountable for the deadly chaos at the Chinnaswamy Stadium that claimed 11 lives and left many injured.

"Yesterday's decision taken by this government about the suspension of five senior police officers is another blunder made by this government. The entire fault lies with the government. To build their image by misusing this IPL trophy, both CM and DCM have taken their own decision, going against the advice of the police," he declared.

Sharpening his criticism, he added, “After this incident occurred, the government blamed the police for this failure. Failure of the police also means the failure of the government only…”

The tragic stampede occurred during the RCB IPL victory celebrations, where thousands had gathered, overwhelming the stadium’s capacity. According to police sources, they had advised caution and crowd control measures—but those warnings were allegedly ignored by the government.

Kumaraswamy accused the state leadership of playing politics with public safety. “This government is obsessed with public image and political optics. This disaster was manufactured by their own reckless decisions,” he said.