Kharge said the celebrations could have been handled with better planning, coordination and attributed the tragedy to an overwhelming turnout.
Published Jun 05, 2025 | 6:45 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 05, 2025 | 6:45 PM
The Minister attributed the tragedy to an overwhelming turnout, far exceeding expectations.
Synopsis: Karnataka Cabinet Minister Priyank Kharge has admitted to planning failures and accepted government responsibility for the stampede outside Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium, which left at least 11 dead and 47 injured during RCB’s victory celebrations. He said the event was poorly managed, with far more people turning up than expected.
Karnataka Minister for IT, BT and Rural Development Priyank Kharge on Thursday, 5 June, acknowledged lapses in planning during the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) victory celebrations, which led to a stampede outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, killing at least 11 and injuring 47 others.
“Yes, there has been a mistake. We have agreed to it. We have taken responsibility. We will correct it. We are a responsible government. In this incident, the government has owned up to its responsibility,” Kharge said.
“This could have been handled with better planning and course coordination. But of course, this is the first time in 18 years that RCB won the [IPL Trophy]. There was a lot of frenzy.”
The Minister attributed the tragedy to an overwhelming turnout, far exceeding expectations. “There were a lot of expectations from the people. A stadium with a capacity of 35,000 people – two and a half, three lakh people came out onto the streets. Although we did the best we could, we were unable to manage the crowd,” he said.
Earlier on Thursday, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar broke down while speaking to reporters. “We did not anticipate such a large crowd and such a tragedy,” he said, adding that both he and the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah were “deeply hurt” by the incident.
The chief minister had, on Wednesday evening, announced that the government would bear all medical expenses of those injured. An ex gratia of ₹10 lakh has been announced for the families of the deceased.
Deputy Commissioner Jagadish G has been appointed to conduct a magisterial inquiry, with instructions to submit a detailed report within 15 days, examining the sequence of events, any administrative omissions, and possible negligence.
The Karnataka unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sharply condemned the Congress-led government for the tragedy, alleging administrative failure and lack of preparedness.
“Despite the traffic police telling the government that they couldn’t control the crowd in front of Vidhana Soudha for RCB victory celebrations, the state government ignored it and went ahead to host this event,” said BJP State President BY Vijayendra shortly after the tragedy.
In response, Kharge accused the BJP of opportunism and double standards. He cited a now-deleted post from the BJP’s official state handle, which had earlier criticised the Congress government for not allowing an open-bus parade.
“The BJP likes to politicise everything. The same BJP – when we said that a victory parade in an open bus would not be feasible on such short notice because of the lack of time to make arrangements – said we were insulting the cricketers,” Kharge said.
“But that post has now been deleted, and now they are saying that it should not have been done at all. So BJP’s intention of politicising and communalising everything is not healthy.”
Amid growing public backlash, Bengaluru-based advocate S Nataraja Sharma has filed a formal police complaint at the Vidhana Soudha police station.
The complaint names Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, KSCA office-bearers, players of the RCB team, and unidentified event organisers, seeking registration of an FIR for alleged criminal negligence.
Citing media reports and personal observations, Sharma alleged that the police had denied permission for the victory event due to security concerns, but the celebration went ahead “with the full knowledge and direct involvement of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister.”
“Despite this, a stage was illegally erected in front of the Vidhana Soudha, and a victory celebration was organised at M Chinnaswamy Stadium through rally, which later cancelled as per the statement of Sri DK Shivakumar while addressing media – both without proper crowd control mechanisms, security arrangements, or issuance of passes for entry,” the complaint reads.
He alleged that the authorities “wilfully disregarded law and order,” resulting in the stampede. The complaint accuses the leaders and organisers of “culpable negligence, dereliction of duty, and reckless disregard for public safety.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
