Karnataka CM defends holding RCB felicitation at Vidhana Soudha

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday defended the decision to go ahead with the RCB victory celebration in front of Vidhana Soudha, saying no untoward incident happened there. The CM's reaction came to the DCP (Vidhana Soudha security) letter written before the event warning against holding felicitations at Vidhana Soudha "hastily", surfaced now. The CM, however, clarified that the event at Vidhana Soudha was organised by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), and that he attended the programme as he was invited.
Talking to reporters in Mysuru, Siddaramaiah pushed back, saying, "Govt has done nothing wrong. Where did it happen? At the stadium. Did anything untoward happen at Vidhana Soudha? All those responsible have been suspended or taken into custody." Four people, including an RCB top executive, have been arrested so far.The CM denied any embarrassment to his govt, though he admitted being pained. "Such a tragedy has never occurred on my watch," he said, blaming RCB, Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), and Bengaluru police for mismanaging crowd control.
Blaming suspended police commissioner B Dayananda, he said he was informed about the stampede at 5.45pm, almost two hours after it occurred. Earlier, in a letter dated June 4, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) MN Karibasvanna warned of security concerns and flagged these to the department of personnel and administrative reforms (DPAR).He told DPAR head G Satyavathi that this will severely hamper security arrangements (bandobast) for such a large-scale event.The letter highlighted the potential for chaos given the team’s immense popularity and the large gathering of fans expected. It further suggested that the employees at Vidhana Soudha should get a half-day leave and flagged a lack of CCTV cameras to monitor the crowd.The Karnataka government has not yet reacted to the details revealed by the letter. Responding to a question about the letter, Siddaramaiah said, "...at the end, what does the letter say? The police will act according to what the government decides. It did not come to me at all. DAPR secretary has given the permission. Of course I was told. I said give permission to the event in front of Vidhana Soudha."

Karnataka: CM Siddaramaiah on the Bengaluru stampede says, "The BJP is making politically motivated allegations. Based on the information available regarding the incident, the government has taken action against the police involved. A judicial inquiry has been ordered as per the… pic.twitter.com/r7XFwpyIkS

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BJP leader R Ashoka said 95 BJP MLAs, including Horatti, would donate a month's salary each to compensate the 11 victims' families.

(State Correspondent)