Bengaluru, June 9 (IANS) Responding to accusations of protocol violation and disrespect shown to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot at the event held on the grand steps of Vidhana Soudha to felicitate the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) players on June 4, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said on Monday that he does not know who invited the Governor to the event.

The Governor was reportedly made to wait on stage for the players, and Congress leaders allegedly ignored him while taking selfies with the players.

Speaking to the media in Delhi, Shivakumar claimed, “One should ask the Governor himself who invited him. I don’t know anything about it. The one-man inquiry commission is probing the matter, and my statements should not influence the probe.”

When asked whether he had met the Congress high command leaders, the Deputy Chief Minister said that it was not possible for him to meet the party high command this time.

“On June 18, I will come to Delhi as a meeting is scheduled with the Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Paatil regarding the Krishna river water award. We are also thinking of meeting the Prime Minister,” he added.

“Today, I have to go back to Karnataka to attend the meeting on the Yettinahole drinking water project,” he said.

Meanwhile, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, while taking to social media platform X, chided CM Siddaramaiah over the Bengaluru stampede incident which claimed 11 lives.

Taking objection to the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s statement that nothing happened at the felicitation event held for the RCB players at the Vidhana Soudha, Union Minister Kumaraswamy said, “The government celebrated victory on the steps of Vidhana Soudha. No one died there! Only near Chinnaswamy Stadium did a stampede occur and people died!! — Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.”

“Respected Siddaramaiah sir.. Are you the Chief Minister of Karnataka, or only the Chief Minister of the Vidhana Soudha steps!? Please tell us?” he asked.

“How fair is it to simply wash your hands of the tragedy by shifting the blame solely onto the police? Why this conspiracy to escape by blaming the Opposition?” he said while criticising the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Responding to Union Minister Kumaraswamy’s criticism, D.K. Suresh, a former MP and brother of Deputy CM Shivakumar, said, “After the RCB won, BJP and JD-S leaders had posted messages on X demanding that the team be allowed a procession. But today they have changed their tune. BJP making a U-turn is nothing new.”

When asked about the BJP’s demand for the resignation of Deputy CM Shivakumar and the CM Siddaramaiah, Suresh said, “Both parties had demanded a procession. They were asking, ‘Are you insulting sports fans, can’t you hold a procession?’ The BJP has had this tendency ever since the Congress government came to power. The people have not given them a majority. We will provide a list of terrible tragedies that have occurred in BJP-ruled states. If BJP leaders have any morality, they should resign first.”

When asked about Union Minister Kumaraswamy’s statement that former PM late Manmohan Singh did not resign after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, the Congress leader responded, saying: “Former CM Vilasrao Deshmukh had resigned after that incident. Kumaraswamy has forgotten this. He can’t eat or sleep without remembering D.K. Shivakumar. I request him to first focus on his health and serve the people of this nation.”

Responding to reports of Deputy CM Shivakumar’s visit to Delhi at the Congress high command’s behest, Suresh clarified, “The media is spreading false news. There is no truth in this. Tenders have been issued for solid waste management in Bengaluru. In this regard, Shivakumar has gone to Delhi with a team of 15 Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike officials to observe new technologies for waste disposal there. He has also gone to hold a meeting with Delhi’s Urban Development department to discuss new road construction.”

–IANS

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