Bengaluru, June 17 (IANS) The Karnataka BJP unit staged a protest at Freedom Park here on Tuesday, demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who is also the Bengaluru in-charge minister, in connection with the June 4 stampede incident, which claimed 11 lives.

The protesters also demanded the resignation of Home Minister G. Parameshwara, citing the Congress government’s failure in preventing the stampede that killed innocent people near the Chinnaswamy Stadium during the RCB’s IPL victory celebration.

BJP State President and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra, Opposition Leader R. Ashoka, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, former Deputy Chief Minister and MLA C.N. Ashwath Narayan, all BJP MLAs, MLCs, District Presidents of Bengaluru, former BBMP members, and party leaders participated in the protest.

The protesters displayed placards slamming the Congress-led government in Karnataka and raised slogans against CM Siddaramaiah and Dy CM Shivakumar. The statements on the placards read: ‘The publicity and photo craze of Congress leaders resulted in the deaths of innocents’, ‘Even after knowing that people would gather in lakhs, why was the programme organised in one day?’, ‘Is it correct to punish the police for the government’s mistake?’, and ‘Even after knowing about deaths in the stampede, Congress inhumanely continued the felicitation programme’.

Police detained all BJP leaders when they crossed the barricades at Freedom Park and attempted to take a march and lay siege to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s residence. The police transported them by bus to an undisclosed location.

BJP State President and MLA Vijayendra stated that even 13 days after the stampede tragedy, the Karnataka government has not taken any responsibility. He claimed they are blaming police officers, but the High Court has also observed that political leadership must take responsibility. “In this backdrop, we are demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah,” he stated.

Reacting to Congress leaders’ references to tragedies during the Maha Kumbh Mela and other religious events across the country, Vijayendra asserted that the tragedy near Chinnaswamy Stadium, which claimed 11 lives, was due to the irresponsible behaviour of the state government, the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister.

“Because of their competition, this tragedy has taken place. The sole responsibility lies with the state government, the Chief Minister, and the Deputy Chief Minister. Hence, we are demanding resignations,” he stated.

He further commented that while the BJP is accused of carrying out “politics over dead bodies”, the people of Karnataka are demanding that the state government take responsibility. He insisted that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Dy CM Shivakumar should take responsibility and tender their resignations, claiming the tragedy occurred due to their internal rift.

Opposition leader R. Ashoka stated that the Congress government is the culprit. “We have lost 11 students in the stampede incident. Condemning this, we will lay siege to the Chief Minister’s residence,” he stated.

Former Bengaluru Police Commissioner and BJP leader Bhaskar Rao stated, “The protest is organised to demand the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Dy CM Shivakumar. The CM and Dy CM are directly responsible for the Bengaluru stampede incident. They created a situation in which people have died. As far as other tragedies that occurred in other parts of the country are concerned, they occurred accidentally.”

He slammed the government, saying, “Suspensions happen after proper procedure and only after a preliminary inquiry. Here, no procedure has been applied. By suspending the police officers, the government thinks it has brought an end to the entire stampede issue.”

Rao further criticised, “The suspensions of police personnel in the stampede case are totally illegal and uncalled for. They shifted the blame from themselves to the innocent police officers who had claimed that the programme could only be held two days later after proper preparations were made. They did not heed this advice, and when the problem occurred, they now blame the police officers. The government is trying to save its skin and close the matter by suspending the police officers.”

–IANS

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