Thirteen lives lost. A 12-year-old girl was crushed to death in the chaos. Dozens more injured. All because the Congress-led Karnataka government chose optics over order, political spectacle over public safety. And now, as the Chief Minister and his deputy shamelessly distance themselves from responsibility, the question must be asked: how many more must die before we hold our elected leaders accountable?
The stampede outside Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium, which occurred during the public felicitation of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team, wasn’t a natural disaster. It was a man-made tragedy. The event drew thousands beyond what the venue could handle. There was no proper crowd control, no strategic police deployment, no foresight. But the real catastrophe came after the chaos, when the Siddaramaiah-led government launched into damage-control mode, not to save lives, but to save face.
Instead of accepting even a shred of accountability, the government quickly played the blame game. Suspensions were handed out to police officers. The Karnataka State Cricket Association was named. So were RCB franchise officials and their event managers. But here’s a simple, uncomfortable truth: none of these agencies could have moved a pebble without the green light of the state government.
Ask yourself: If this wasn’t a state-sponsored function, why did Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar personally receive the RCB team at the airport? Why was the team taken to the Vidhana Soudha — the state secretariat, a symbol of state power — if the felicitation wasn’t orchestrated by the government? And if the Chief Minister and his deputy truly had no clue that people had died in a stampede just a kilometre away, what does it say about their administrative control? Or are we to believe that Bengaluru police kept the state’s top leadership in the dark while they smiled for the cameras?
Even more farcical was the CM’s decision to order an enquiry by the District Collector. If the government had nothing to do with the event, why the a desperate need for a probe? And if lives were truly lost due to systemic negligence, how is a DC-level enquiry even remotely adequate? The Karnataka High Court, in a rare move, has already taken suo motto cognizance of the tragedy. It must now go the whole way and appoint a judicial commission — because this government clearly cannot be trusted to investigate itself.
The brazenness of Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar’s conduct reeks of arrogance, indifference, and political opportunism. This entire spectacle was, in all likelihood, a planned PR stunt — a desperate attempt by Shivakumar to bolster his public image ahead of a power-sharing agreement scheduled in a few months, as part of the Congress’s internal compromise to keep its Karnataka unit from imploding.
And let us not ignore the symbolic irony of the entire episode. RCB — a team that has never won an IPL title — was being paraded around the Vidhana Soudha like world champions. And who owns RCB? None other than United Breweries, once controlled by fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who defrauded Indian banks of thousands of crores. A man who now resides in luxury in the UK, and who recently resurfaced in a conveniently timed interview blaming the late Arun Jaitley for his escape from India — a statement curiously coinciding with the chaos in Karnataka, as if to stir a diversion in public discourse.
Is it too far-fetched to suggest that the RCB felicitation, the stampede, and Mallya’s sudden reappearance are part of a deeper political gambit? Perhaps. But what is indisputable is this: the people of Karnataka are being ruled by politicians who value photo-ops over lives, applause over accountability, and power over purpose.
In what kind of democracy does a 12-year-old girl die on the streets while her elected leaders dance in stadiums? In what kind of state do cops take the fall for policy decisions made at the top? And in what kind of political culture do those facing corruption charges, like D.K. Shivakumar, continue to occupy high office and preach governance to others?
Karnataka deserves answers. India deserves better.
The people must rise above the haze of celebrity worship and ask why those they elect remain so aloof, so criminally detached from ground reality. Thirteen lives lost are not a footnote — they are a damning indictment of a political culture gone horribly wrong.
