Bengaluru, June 17 (UNI) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday launched a scathing counterattack against the opposition BJP’s demand for his resignation over the stampede incident outside Chinnaswamy Stadium, accusing the saffron party of indulging in "politics over corpses" and failing to show moral responsibility during similar past tragedies.
In a detailed post on social media platform X, Siddaramaiah said, "Before asking for our resignation in connection with the stampede incident, I appeal to BJP leaders in Karnataka to release a list of BJP ministers who resigned when similar incidents occurred during their tenure."
Terming the stampede as an unfortunate accident, the Chief Minister said the Congress government had taken immediate and responsible action, including suspending senior police officials such as the Bengaluru City Police Commissioner, transferring the head of the State Intelligence Department, and dismissing his political secretary from service.
Furthermore, a one-member commission headed by retired judge Justice John Michael D'Cunha has been constituted to conduct a thorough and impartial probe into the incident, Siddaramaiah said.
Refuting the BJP’s protests as politically motivated, he remarked, "Politics over corpses is nothing new for the BJP. It is in their blood to swoop down like vultures in search of dead bodies as soon as accidents, murders or atrocities take place. People of Karnataka have understood this old practice — pointing to a dead fly on someone else’s leaf even when an elephant lies dead on their own table."
Drawing parallels with past incidents under BJP-led governments, Siddaramaiah recalled that during the 2002 Gujarat riots, around 2,000 people lost their lives, yet then Chief Minister Narendra Modi did not resign even when urged by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
"In the Pahalgam terrorist attack in April this year, 26 Indians died. We didn’t ask the Prime Minister to resign. He hasn’t even accepted our demand to convene a special Parliament session to discuss the massacre. The PM, who is busy distributing sindoor across the country, hasn’t yet identified the four culprits," he said, questioning who should take responsibility — "Nehru, Rahul Gandhi or Narendra Modi?"
He also pointed to the two-year-long violence in Manipur where over a hundred have died, but Chief Minister Biren Singh, also from BJP, remained in power for 20 months before resigning under Supreme Court pressure. "Even now, violence continues. Shouldn’t the Union Home Minister be held accountable?" he asked.
The Congress leader further highlighted the 2022 Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat, which claimed 140 lives, and the Mahakumbh Mela stampede in January this year, in which 30 died, as examples where BJP state governments neither resigned nor ensured proper investigation.
"Despite these examples, the BJP in Karnataka is demanding our resignation. On what moral grounds?" Siddaramaiah asked.
The Chief Minister reiterated that his government is accountable to the people and reaffirmed that strict action would be taken based on the findings of the judicial commission. "I urge the BJP to abandon such street farces and protests and instead act according to their conscience," Siddaramaiah concluded.
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