Karnataka govt chose publicity stunts over safety, well-being of innocent citizens: BJP

Bengaluru: Alleging dereliction of duty on the part of the Congress government in Karnataka for the loss of lives in a stampede during RCB team's IPL victory celebrations in Bengaluru, the state BJP on Thursday accused it of choosing publicity stunts over the safety and well-being of innocent citizens.

Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra has slammed Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar for his post on ‘X’ claiming that the government or authorities did not anticipate such an overwhelming crowd - while the stadium has a capacity of 35,000, over 3 lakh people had gathered.

As many as 11 people died and 33 injured following a stampede near the Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium here, where a large number of people had thronged to participate in the RCB team's IPL victory celebrations on Wednesday.

“Dear D K Shivakumar, when politics mattered more than sports, selfies of your families mattered more than the fans, vanity more than safety, and publicity more than governance - this tragedy was inevitable,” Vijayendra said.

“Who are you trying to fool when you claim you didn’t anticipate an overwhelming crowd?” he said in a post on ‘X’.

Given the expectations and the frenzied excitement of the fans, even a child could have foreseen the massive turnout, the BJP leader said, “This is nothing short of a dereliction of duty by you and your government - one that chose publicity stunts over the safety and well-being of innocent citizens, right on the sacred podium of Vidhana Soudha.”

“Your government should take lessons in crowd management from the Uttar Pradesh government, which successfully conducted the Kumbh Mela - one of the world’s largest religious gatherings over 50 days. Shame on your government,” he added.