Riding RCB hype, govt got priorities wrong

The stampede during celebrations around the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)’s Indian Premier League (IPL) title win – which claimed 11 lives and left many injured – raises serious questions about the Karnataka government’s disproportionate enthusiasm for a private franchise’s achievement in a commercial sporting event. While cricket is a passion in India, the political leadership overstepped by treating RCB’s win as the state’s triumph, leading to disastrous consequences. Let us be clear: RCB is a franchise commercially owned by a liquor conglomerate, with its former owner, Vijay Mallya, stating that the team’s primary purpose was to promote an alcohol brand. Unlike state cricket teams, RCB is a private entity with minimal local representation. Yet, the government went to extraordinary lengths to facilitate a grand celebration on the steps of the Vidhana Soudha, with the attendance of Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, and a host of ministers and bureaucrats – many accompanied by their families. A private function was elevated to an official state event, implicitly signalling the bureaucracy to disregard standard protocol.

The political motives were glaring. Cricket’s immense popularity makes it an irresistible tool for politicians seeking visibility. The ruling Congress, keen to leverage RCB’s emotional victory after an 18-year wait, fully endorsed the celebrations while the Opposition, including BJP and JD(S), was equally opportunistic. They had earlier criticised the government for cancelling an open-bus victory parade, accusing it of disappointing the fans. In this race to capitalise on cricket frenzy, no party initially showed restraint, though the Opposition swiftly changed its stance after the tragedy.

What renders this episode even more indefensible is the sheer scale of celebrations compared to other IPL victories. No other state has elevated a franchise’s win to an official spectacle of this magnitude. The only notable exception was in 2012, when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee prominently led the Kolkata Knight Riders’ victory celebrations, organising a five-km open-bus parade, hosting a grand ceremony at Eden Gardens and even acting as master of ceremonies at the event. The Karnataka government’s actions were a replication of this precedent. By treating a private team’s success as a state affair, the government created a situation where crowd control became dangerously compromised, especially given the extremely short notice for the celebrations. Politicians must learn a hard lesson: their desperation to ride the popular sentiment should not come at the cost of public safety. Eleven lives were lost in a needless catastrophe – one that could have been avoided had the government recognised RCB’s victory as a private team’s achievement over which the state had no claim.