Taking strong exception to BJP leader Suresh Kumar calling his government “abettors” in the tragedy, Siddaramaiah asked whether BJP leaders had shown similar accountability during tragedies under their administrations.
Published Aug 22, 2025 | 4:57 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 22, 2025 | 4:57 PM
Reading from a prepared list, Siddaramaiah referred to 20 major stampedes or similar disasters in BJP-ruled states.
Synopsis: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in response to Opposition criticism of his government’s handling of the 4 June Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede, listed several similar tragedies that have claimed hundreds of lives in BJP-ruled states, stressing that such incidents are not isolated but driven by “mass hysteria” and require closer attention to prevent future disasters. He further defended his administration’s response and cited past incidents where the Opposition JD(S) and BJP had shirked responsibility under similar circumstances.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday, August 22 recalled a series of stampedes that have claimed hundreds of lives in BJP-ruled states, stressing that such tragedies stem from “mass hysteria” and are not isolated incidents.
His remarks came during a discussion in the Assembly over the 4 June stampede outside Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium, which killed 11 people during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) victory celebrations.
Reading from a prepared list, Siddaramaiah referred to 20 major stampedes or similar disasters in BJP-ruled states or those governed by BJP allies. The first, he noted, was the Naina Devi temple stampede in Himachal Pradesh on August 3, 2008, when Prem Singh Dhumal was Chief Minister. He followed this with the Jodhpur stampede of 2008, which claimed 250 lives, and the Ratangarh incident of 2013 in Madhya Pradesh.
He cited other tragedies including Haridwar in 2021, the Sehore stampede of 2023 in Madhya Pradesh, the Hathras stampede in Uttar Pradesh in 2024 where 121 people died, and the Prayagraj stampede during the 2025 Kumbh Mela which killed 39.
“I had expressed deep regret on the very day the incident occurred,” the Chief Minister said, responding to opposition accusations.
“Before being a Chief Minister, I am a human being. I know the weight of grief of losing children. This incident, which happened while I was serving as Chief Minister, has deeply disturbed me. Even if I had not been Chief Minister, as a human being, it would have saddened me, I want to state this sincerely from my conscience.”
The Chief Minister also linked stampede-like disasters to structural collapses, pointing to the Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat in 2022, which killed 135 people, and the Delhi railway station stampede in February 2025, which left 18 dead. More recently, in May 2025, six lives were lost in a stampede at the Lairai Devi temple in Shirgao, North Goa.
“In 2013, three people died in America. In 1989, 97 died at Sheffield, England. In 2022, 174 died in Indonesia at a football stadium. In June 2025, two died in Paris,” he said, citing global examples.
Referring to BJP leaders R Ashok and Suresh Kumar’s earlier comments about Samooha Sanni (mass frenzy), the Chief Minister asked:
“Why does this mass hysteria occur? Whether in poor countries or rich countries, why does this disease occur in all societies? And what treatments must be given for it? This is something we must all think about seriously.”
Siddaramaiah said the matter should concern “not only the ruling party but also the opposition, media, and people at large.”
Quoting Dr BR Ambedkar’s address of November 25, 1949, he reminded the House that “personality-worship and devotion take hold easily in this country,” and warned that stampede tragedies must push society to reflect on what inspires mass hysteria and how to prevent it.
Siddaramaiah explained that stampedes generally occur in three contexts: at religious gatherings, during sports or victory celebrations, and when people flee in fear in situations such as bridge collapses.
Addressing criticism around the government’s felicitation of RCB, he remarked:
“In the 18 years since IPL cricket matches began, RCB had never won the trophy. Only in the 2025 edition did it win. Who the owner of RCB is is immaterial, what arose was the sentiment of Bangalore and Karnataka versus Punjab. The media and society have cultivated the emotional mindset that a team playing under the name of Karnataka’s Bangalore is playing for Karnataka itself.”
He added: “Not only that, among IPL teams across the world, RCB is one of those with the largest fanbase. Hence, this frenzy and hysteria is overflowing among the youth. Many times we must work in line with people’s aspirations. Even if our conscience does not agree, sometimes people’s aspirations take precedence. This too is a feature of democracy.”
Referring to public expectations, he said: “RCB was made not only Bangalore’s identity, but also Karnataka’s identity. Therefore, if RCB was not felicitated after winning, it was projected as an insult to Kannadigas’ emotions. Hence, responding to people’s sentiments is also the government’s duty.”
Taking strong exception to Suresh Kumar calling his government “abettors” in the tragedy due to institutional failure, Siddaramaiah asked whether BJP leaders had shown similar accountability during tragedies under their administrations:
“In 2006, when Dr Rajkumar passed away, during the police firing and stampede deaths, your government was in alliance with JDS. At that time, did you call your government and the then Chief Minister abettors?”
“On May 2, 2022, when 32 people died in Chamarajanagar hospital due to lack of oxygen, did you call Basavaraj Bommai and the then Health Minister abettors?”
“In Gujarat’s Morbi bridge collapse, Hathras, or Prayagraj stampedes, did you call BJP Chief Ministers abettors?”
He said that even in the case of denying permission to the RCB parade, the BJP and JDS criticised the government on X. “From this, it is clear that the opposition parties too, along with the government, were eager to reap benefits of mass hysteria. Now Suresh Kumar must answer: do you have the moral courage to call BJP, JDS parties, including yourself and your ally JDS, abettors?”
He also referred to the Gujarat Titans’ 2022 IPL victory parade in Ahmedabad during the Covid pandemic: “Did you call Modi, Trump, Amit Shah, and Bhupendra Patel abettors when lakhs of people died due to Covid spreading during such events?”
Conversely, he underlined that unlike past governments, his administration had acted swiftly after the Bengaluru tragedy.
“Justice Michael Cunha as a one-member inquiry commission. Justice Cunha submitted his report on 10.07.2025, and the Bengaluru Deputy Commissioner submitted his report on 11.07.2025. In both reports, it was made clear that due to lapses committed by RCB, DNA, KSCA, and the city police, this tragedy occurred,” he said.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
