Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah’s remarks comparing the Bengaluru stadium stampede with the Kumbh Mela disaster have triggered a heated political exchange. His statement followed a tragic event at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium, where massive celebrations for Royal Challengers Bangalore’s IPL win turned fatal. As fans rushed in overwhelming numbers to see their cricket heroes, stampedes at two gates left 11 people dead and 47 injured.
Facing criticism over poor crowd control, the Chief Minister announced ex gratia for the deceased’s families and assured free medical care for the wounded. At a press briefing, Siddaramaiah noted that similar tragedies had occurred elsewhere, mentioning the Kumbh Mela incident where 50–60 people reportedly lost their lives. “Did we or the Congress comment back then?” he questioned, urging restraint.
His comments were swiftly denounced by Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, who argued that drawing parallels between the two events was unjustifiable. “These are not comparable. Why did you override police advice and proceed? And after such a loss of life, why continue celebrating?” Joshi asked, also condemning Deputy CM DK Shivakumar’s reception of players amid the mourning.
Joshi insisted a judicial inquiry was essential and criticized what he called the government’s insensitive conduct, highlighting the lack of seriousness and presence of public figures taking selfies during the aftermath.
In response, Shivakumar expressed regret, acknowledging the administration hadn’t anticipated such a massive turnout. With crowd estimates exceeding 3 lakh against a 35,000-capacity stadium, he apologized and accused the BJP of exploiting the tragedy for political mileage.
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