Bengaluru, June 18 (UNI) The BJP on Wednesday said it will soon meet Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to seek action against the Congress government over the stampede tragedy during the RCB victory celebrations, which claimed 11 lives.

Leader of the opposition in the legislative council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy said the party would urge the Governor to intervene, alleging “gross administrative failure and criminal negligence” on the part of the state government.

Speaking to reporters here, Narayanaswamy said, “We are planning to meet the Governor either today or tomorrow to present the facts. The government cannot escape accountability for the chaos and deaths that occurred due to their mismanagement. This government has become deaf to the people’s grief.”

He questioned the government's rationale for organising the felicitation function in a hurry on June 4, just hours after the city had witnessed night-long celebrations. “Why was there such urgency? Why call crowds to Vidhana Soudha without basic arrangements in place?” he asked.

Narayanaswamy said the tragedy could have been avoided had the event been held at the KSCA stadium, where crowd control mechanisms were better. “Instead, you chose the staircase of Vidhana Soudha and called people from all over. Now, you say you don’t know what happened there? This is unacceptable,” he remarked.

He took strong exception to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s statement distancing himself from the responsibility of the mishap. “You cannot say that what happened inside is your responsibility and outside is not. Eleven people lost their lives because of your lack of foresight. The government must answer.”

He further slammed the protocol lapses during the Governor’s visit to the event, stating that the stage was mismanaged and that even basic decorum was not maintained. “Your family and relatives were on the stage while the Governor was shown no respect. This is a serious breach of constitutional protocol,” he said.

UNI BDN PRS