Did any BJP leader quit over Air India tragedy: Siddaramaiah on Bengaluru stampede

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday addressed the Assembly over the June 4 stampede incident outside Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium, saying he remained deeply disturbed by the loss of lives and the pain endured by families.

Defending his government against BJP’s demand for his resignation, he drew comparisons with other national tragedies, asking, “In the Air India crash, did anyone from the NDA or BJP resign? Were those not people who died? Then why is the BJP asking for our resignation over this stampede?”

“I am saddened by the stampede incident. I should have apologised. Parents are in pain. I remain disturbed even today. I received information about the incident at 5.30 pm,” he said.

Responding to criticism from the BJP, Siddaramaiah admitted he had gone to a hotel with his grandson on the day of the incident.

“The BJP said I went to eat dosa. It is true, I went. I am not denying it. My grandson had come from London and I had brought him for the Vidhana Soudha RCB event. He said, ‘Let’s eat dosa.’ That is why we went to the hotel. At 5.30 pm, I learnt of the incident. This is the truth. You may believe it or not. From the hotel, I called the commissioner. He initially said one person had died. By then, 11 people had died,” he explained.

The Chief Minister said he acted immediately after learning of the incident. “Anyone with humanity will feel pain. I called the Home Minister and asked him to come with me to the hospital. We both went, we saw the dead bodies, and we were deeply hurt. It has disturbed me greatly. I immediately ordered an inquiry,” he said.

Detailing the steps taken, Siddaramaiah added, “On the evening of June 4, I ordered a Deputy Commissioner’s inquiry. On June 5, I ordered a one-man commission inquiry. Justice D’Cunha submitted his report on July 10. On July 11, the Deputy Commissioner submitted his report. In the last ten years, 20 stampedes have occurred.”

On Thursday, the Karnataka government moved to refer the Crowd Control (Managing Crowd at Events and Place of Gathering) Bill, 2025 to a house committee after facing strong opposition from rival parties over concerns it could restrict protests and affect cultural and religious events.

The Bill, tabled in the Assembly by Home Minister G Parameshwara, was introduced in the wake of the June 4 stampede outside Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium, which claimed 11 lives. Parameshwara described the tragedy as a “wake-up call” and said the legislation aims to ensure crowd safety and hold event organisers accountable.

The Bill requires organisers of events expecting 7,000 or more people to obtain police permission in advance, with those expecting over 50,000 attendees additionally required to provide an indemnity bond of Rs 1 crore.

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