IPL stampede: Congress high command ‘reprimands’ CM, Dy. CM-OxBig News Network

The Congress high command has reportedly reprimanded Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, asking what were the State government’s need and urgency to hold the felicitation function, that too without adhering to norms, for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

With public anger appearing to be building up against the government and the matter pending before the High Court of Karnataka, the high command told both leaders that there should be “a clear-cut pro-people attitude on this issue” to repair the dented image of the government.

The high command summoned both leaders to the national capital after the June 4 stampede during the RCB’s victory celebrations outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru that claimed 11 lives and left 56 injured.

Action-taken report

Both Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar, who is also the KPCC president, on Tuesday presented an action-taken report before Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leader Rahul Gandhi, and AICC general secretaries K.C. Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala.

The party’s central leaders reportedly chastised Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar for holding the felicitation event “in a hurry”, according to party sources. The central leaders apparently told both State leaders not to take “hasty decisions” in the future which would embarrass the party both at the State and the national level.

Briefing the media after the meeting, Mr. Venugopal said the Congress leadership also discussed the current political situation and other issues, including the stampede. “Certainly, we are very much concerned about every human life. An unfortunate incident has happened. The government of Karnataka has already ordered a judicial inquiry to find out what exactly happened,” he said.

The Congress government has faced sharp criticism from the BJP and the JD(S), with both parties holding the Chief Minister and his deputy directly responsible and demanding their resignation. They have also sought a special Assembly session to discuss the incident.

The government suspended five senior officers, including Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayananda, for “substantial dereliction of duty,” and also transferred ADGP, intelligence. Mr. Siddaramaiah also removed his Political Secretary K Govindraj, MLC, and cases have been registered against representatives of RCB, DNA and KSCA.

The government has also constituted a one-man commission of retired high court judge Justice John Michael D’Cunha to probe the incident.