New Delhi: As bodies of stampede victims lay outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar was inside Vidhana Soudha leading a celebratory felicitation for the IPL-winning Royal Challengers Bengaluru — a contrast that Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Wednesday described as the “defining image of a callous and self-obsessed government.”
In a blistering attack on the Congress-led administration, Kumaraswamy held Shivakumar personally responsible for the stampede that claimed eleven lives during RCB’s homecoming parade, accusing him of recklessness, poor judgement, and a dangerous obsession with personal glorification.
“This tragedy is a direct consequence of D.K. Shivakumar’s impatience and immaturity,” the Union Minister said, demanding that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah immediately dismiss his deputy from the cabinet.
Addressing the media late Wednesday night from his official residence in New Delhi, Kumaraswamy denounced the state’s top leadership as “arrogant fools,” alleging that the Chief Minister had completely lost control over his government.
“The CM is inactive, the Home Minister is a puppet, and the Deputy CM runs amok,” he charged.
Kumaraswamy slammed the hasty organisation of two parallel celebration events — one near Vidhana Soudha and another at the stadium — questioning the motive behind such urgency.
“The team won the IPL on Tuesday night. Why the mad rush for a felicitation the next morning? Who received the team at the airport? Only Shivakumar and his loyalists. Was this the DK Shivakumar RCB team?” he said mockingly.
He blamed the government’s lack of coordination and security arrangements for the fatal crowd surge. “Had there been one single, well-planned event with proper preparation, this disaster could have been avoided. Instead, it was a PR circus meant to showcase one man — and fans paid the price.”
Criticising Shivakumar’s conduct at the stadium, Kumaraswamy said, “Even as bodies of fans lay outside, he walked in, lifted the trophy, and kissed it — as if he had played and won the match himself. It was vulgar self-promotion in the face of death.”
Calling for a judicial inquiry into the incident, Kumaraswamy reiterated that if the Chief Minister had “even a shred of accountability,” he must begin by sacking his Deputy.
“This level of arrogance and insensitivity cannot be allowed to continue,” he declared.
