Mysuru: Last evening’s stampede during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL victory celebrations at Chinnaswamy Stadium, which claimed 11 lives, has ignited a wave of criticism, with BJP leaders accusing the Congress-led Karnataka Government of gross negligence, mismanagement, and political opportunism.

Former MP Prathap Simha blamed the tragedy on administrative failure and slammed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for lacking empathy. “Earlier, I thought the CM was just harsh. Now I realise he is utterly insensitive,” he said.

Simha alleged the event served as a VIP spectacle, with Ministers’ children enjoying privileged access, including photo sessions with players at Vidhana Soudha.

He questioned the silence of Ministers Santosh Lad and Priyank Kharge, who had once advised UP CM Yogi Adityanath on security, saying, “CM Yogi manages 60 crore people in UP. Our government failed with 60,000.”

He also accused Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar of focusing on photo ops rather than public safety and questioned the urgency: “Did Virat Kohli ask for a parade? Why the rush without planning?”

Drawing a parallel to Andhra Pradesh, where actor Allu Arjun was booked over a stampede, Simha asked if Karnataka’s top leadership would face similar accountability. He dismissed the Government’s probe as eyewash and said the incident had sullied the image of the police force.

Congress publicity stunt

Krishnaraja MLA T.S. Srivatsa said that the Government must accept moral responsibility. “This was a result of sheer negligence. The Ministers should resign,” he said and accused the event of being turned into a Congress publicity stunt. Comparing Karnataka’s chaos to the well-organised IPL parades in other States, Srivatsa decried the last-minute, haphazard planning.

Mysuru BJP spokesperson M.A. Mohan called the tragedy “a Government-triggered massacre,” blaming the CM for calling the event and arranging special flights for players, while failing to ensure basic crowd control.

“The Police were overworked and had no reserve support. The Government used this for political gain and citizens paid the price,” he said adding that  the Congress Government was interested in publicity than protecting people and highlighted widespread criticism on social media.