The tragic stampede at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium during the felicitation of the IPL 2025 champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), has claimed 11 lives and left over 30 injured. Amid national grief, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s response at a press conference on June 5 stirred major controversy. While addressing the media, he downplayed the tragedy by comparing it to the Maha Kumbh stampede, stating, “It is not as large as those lost in Maha Kumbh.” His remarks, perceived as dismissive and insensitive, have triggered sharp criticism from the Opposition and the public, many of whom are still mourning the young lives lost in the incident.

CM Siddaramaiah, along with Deputy CM DK Shivakumar and Home Minister G. Parameshwara, claimed that the stampede was unforeseen and blamed the unexpected turnout of nearly 3 lakh fans, despite the stadium’s capacity being only 35,000. “People even broke the stadium gates,” Siddaramaiah added, while announcing a magisterial inquiry to be completed within 15 days. The Deputy CM visited the injured victims at Bowring Hospital and accused the BJP of “playing politics over dead bodies,” calling for unity and compassion during this painful time rather than political mudslinging. He emphasized that the same police force had served under BJP and JD(S) tenures and were doing their best under sudden crowd pressure.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has held the Congress-led Karnataka government squarely responsible, with national spokesperson Sambit Patra demanding the resignation of both the Chief Minister and his deputy. He labeled it a “government-manufactured stampede,” citing complete administrative failure. Patra also questioned Rahul Gandhi’s silence, accusing him of vanishing during times of real accountability. As the magisterial probe gets underway, public anger continues to mount, not just over the tragic loss of life, but also the government’s response, which many feel lacks the gravity and empathy such a disaster demands.