Bengaluru stampede: ‘Ingrained in BJP’s DNA to pounce on tragedies like vultures,’ says CM Siddaramaiah; calls incident ‘unfortunate’ | India News
NEW DELHI: Karnataka chief ministerSiddaramaiah on Tuesday asked the political rival BJP to provide the list of their leaders who resigned after incidents similar to the stampede that occurred near the Chinnaswamy Stadium during the victory parade held to celebrate the RCB IPL team winning the T-20 tournament.Siddaramaiah further accused the BJP of having political motives, alleging that “politicising the tragedies is not new to the BJP” and that the party has it “ingrained in its DNA to pounce like vultures over every incident of deaths, accident or violence”.Calling the stampede unfortunate, the Karnataka chief minister said, “as a government, we have taken accountability for the incident”.“We have suspended senior police officers, including the Bengaluru City Police Commissioner, and transferred the Chief of the State Intelligence Department. My political secretary has also been relieved of his duties,” Siddaramaiah said. He also said his government has “constituted a one-member commission led by retired Justice John Michael Cunha to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter”.Siddaramaiah further said: “A comprehensive and impartial investigation is being conducted under the leadership of a retired judge. Based on the commission’s report, strict action will be taken against the culprits without hesitation”.“Despite taking such decisive actions, the BJP leaders in the state continue to protest. This makes it evident that their motives are political rather than driven by genuine concern for the people. Politicizing tragedies is not new to the BJP. It is ingrained in their DNA to pounce like vultures over every incident of death, accident, or violence,” the Karnataka CM said, according to news agency ANI.The senior Congress leader said even “if an elephant dies in their courtyard, they have the habit of turning their attention to a fly on their neighbour’s plate”. The Karnataka CM said his government empathised with the grief and anguish of the families affected by every tragedy, adding he said: “This is why we do not exploit such incidents for political gain. However, given the BJP leaders’ repeated attempts to incite the public by dredging up these incidents, we feel compelled to expose their hypocrisy by bringing certain incidents during their rule to the attention of the people.“
