“Such Incidents Happen in Many Places”: CM Siddaramaiah’s Kumbh Mela Remark Sparks Political Firestorm After Bengaluru Stampede

Bengaluru: A day after the deadly stampede at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium that claimed 11 lives and left over 40 injured during the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) IPL victory celebration, political tempers flared following a controversial remark made by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. His comparison of the tragedy to the Kumbh Mela stampede has sparked sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and civil society alike.

Amid growing outrage over the lack of crowd control during the event, CM Siddaramaiah addressed the media and announced an ex-gratia of ₹10 lakh each for the families of the deceased. However, it was his attempt to contextualize the incident by referencing the Kumbh Mela that ignited a storm.

“Such incidents happen in many places; I am not going to defend it but 50-60 people died in Kumbh Mela. I did not criticise, if Congress criticises, then that’s a different matter,” Siddaramaiah said.

He further stated, “In Kumbh Mela, 50-60 people died, but I didn’t criticise it. If the Congress criticises, that’s a different matter. Did I or the Karnataka government criticise?” The statement, meant to deflect political blame, was widely seen as insensitive and tone-deaf to the scale of the tragedy that unfolded in Bengaluru.

Reacting strongly, Union Minister and senior BJP leader Pralhad Joshi lashed out at the Congress-led state government and rejected the comparison outright.

“When police denied permission, why was the event forced through? And after the deaths, why continue the celebrations? Why was the Deputy CM busy taking selfies?” Joshi asked, as quoted by NDTV.

He went on to criticise the Chief Minister’s defence, calling the Kumbh Mela comparison “incomparable” and demanded accountability from the state administration.

“The Kumbh tragedy was handled sensitively. No one was busy with photo ops. A judicial inquiry must be conducted. The government has to reply. This is highly condemnable,” he added.

The Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar also addressed the media and admitted to errors in assessing the situation.

“We underestimated the crowd. More than 3 lakh people turned up for a venue with 35,000 capacity,” he said, adding that the government deeply regrets the incident. “We’re very sorry. We’ll ensure this never happens again.”