Bengaluru, Jun 16 (UNI) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Congress leader DK Shivakumar on Monday said the Ahmedabad plane crash narrowly missed turning into a catastrophe of far greater scale, while criticising the BJP for attempting to politicise tragedies like Chinnaswamy stampede instead of showing compassion.
Shivakumar, who visited the crash site, said, “The aircraft crashed between two major buildings housing hundreds of students. Had it gone just 500 metres further, thousands more could have been affected. It's a miracle that the toll wasn’t far worse.”
He noted that officials refrained from showing certain areas of the site due to concerns over contamination. “They told us about the high risk of infection. The burn marks and devastation we saw were shocking,” he said.
The senior Congress leader also met several survivors and described the emotional toll of the incident. “Some people have escaped with minor injuries, but the trauma runs deep. One survivor is mentally disturbed — the psychological impact cannot be ignored,” he said.
Shivakumar said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was deeply moved after seeing TV visuals of the crash and had encouraged the party to show solidarity with the victims. “We came here to express our condolences and support. No one should suffer such a fate — not in this country, not anywhere in the world,” he said.
On the investigation, he urged restraint.
“We are waiting for the black box report. Let’s not jump to conclusions. The DGCA is handling it. This is not a time for political scoring.”
However, he strongly criticised the BJP for using the Chinnaswamy tragedy to target others. “Even in the face of death and trauma, BJP leaders are busy finding faults. That’s their nature. But I will not stoop to politicise such a grave national concern. Let them do what they want — we won’t engage in blame games.”
Shivakumar reiterated that he had no comment on the Civil Aviation Minister’s handling of the matter. “I’m not a technical expert. I won’t speak out of turn. This is a serious issue for the entire nation.”
UNI BDN PRS