Bengaluru, June 17: Hitting out at the BJP for taking a moral high ground and criticising Karnataka government on the Bengaluru stampede, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar today asked who would take responsibility for stampedes in BJP-ruled states.
“Do we need to carry the BJP on our shoulders for taking a high ground and criticising the government on the stampede? Who is responsible for the stampedes in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and many railway stations across the country? More than hundred people died in a stampede at a UP temple alone. I went to visit plane crash site in Ahmedabad, did I say a word about the Union government?”
Speaking to reporters after flagging off a marathon organised by the Karnataka Pollution Control Board on the occasion of World Environment Day, he said, “They are specialists in doing politics over dead bodies. They have been doing this brand of politics for a long time.” He was replying to a reporter who drew his attention to BJP protests demanding CM and DCM take responsibility for the Chinnaswamy stadium stampede.
“The government has already taken action against many people in this regard. We have also formed a one-man commission to conduct investigation. There have been hundreds of such incidents in the country, but the Congress party has never politicised them. They are busy accusing us as they are losing their political base. It is nothing but a desperate attempt to prove their existence. The people are not with them,” he retorted.
Asked if the BJP was targeting DK Shivakumar, he said, “It is natural that powerful people have a lot of enemies. The lesser the strength, the lesser the enemies. There won’t obviously be any enemies if one doesn’t have any power. If the media is with us, we will take oath once again in 2028.” Asked if he would swear in as the CM, he said the Congress government would take oath.
Not scared of garbage mafia, opportunities for new comers
Asked about High Court’s stay on re-tendering for waste disposal, he said, “How will it work if we don’t’ clean the city? I will study the judgement. There were 89 tenders earlier and they have all ganged up. It is a mafia. They think they can refuge under the Court’s order, we will persuade the Court about this.”
“Some people are engaged in obstructing works by getting stays through PILs. This won’t work with us. We will throw away the garbage mafia and will give opportunities to new comers,” he said.
