Bengaluru stampede: BJP demands judicial probe and resignation of Home Minister

Squarely blaming the Congress government’s alleged lack of preparations in holding the victory celebrations of RCB as the main reason for the stampede that claimed 11 lives in Bengaluru on Wednesday, the Opposition BJP has demanded a judicial probe into the incident besides the resignation of Home Minister G. Parameshwara.

BJP State president B.Y. Vijayendra, who visited the hospitals where the injured people are being treated, accompanied by Leaders of the Opposition in both the Houses of the State legislature R. Ashok and Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, demanded that the probe should look into the failure by the government in crowd management too.

Mr. Ashok alleged that the government hurriedly organised such a programme only to take credit for the RCB’s victory without proper preparations or planning with the Police Department.

“It is highly irresponsible on the part of the government that it did not bother to think whether the police who were already drained out through their night-long monitoring of the law and order situation on Tuesday would be able to handle a mega programme the next day,” he alleged. He argued that the government could have scheduled the programme during the weekend, as that would have provided more time for it to prepare.

Accusing the government of keeping the people in a state of confusion till evening on whether there would be a victory parade or not, he urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to clarify if anyone had brought pressure on the police to take any clear decision in this regard.

He demanded that Home Minister G. Parameshwara immediately tender his resignation, owning moral responsibility. He also demanded a compensation of ₹25 lakh each for the families of the deceased.

Meanwhile, Opposition Chief Whip in the Legislative Council N. Ravikumar alleged that the ill-manner in which the government organised the programme in front of the Vidhana Soudha, as though it was the family programme of its leaders, that also saw stone-pelting and lati-charging had not only made the State bend its head in shame, but also upset RCB players themselves.

Published - June 04, 2025 11:23 pm IST