Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has faced backlash over how his government handled the stampede in Bengaluru. Responding to the criticism, he said his government was not responsible for the incident and what caused it. He expressed sadness over what happened on June 4 and said such tragedies should never happen under any government.

The chaos broke out outside Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium during a celebration event for the IPL 2025 winners, Royal Challengers Bengaluru. A huge crowd of around 2 to 3 lakh people gathered, and a stampede occurred. Sadly, 11 people died and 56 were injured.

Blaming poor crowd control, the government took action against the police, suspending several top officers, including the Police Commissioner. Dismissing criticism over the Bengaluru stampede, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the organisers should have handled the situation better. He expressed personal sorrow over the tragedy and said, “Such an unpleasant incident should not happen under any government.”

He confirmed that five police officers had been suspended, and both the intelligence chief and his political secretary were replaced. Siddaramaiah also said the Police Commissioner failed to inform him about the crowd chaos outside the stadium and was held accountable.The CM said his government may consider relocating the stadium to prevent such incidents in the future. An FIR has been registered against RCB, event organiser DNA Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., and KSCA officials for "criminal negligence."

Siddaramaiah accused the BJP and JDS of politicising the tragedy, stating, “What is my fault? I have taken strict action. We’ve launched a judicial inquiry as they demanded.”He also revealed that a warning letter from police about potential risks never reached him. “The letter clearly stated certain conditions had to be met if the program was to go ahead. But it never came to me,” he said.

The Congress leader added that he was merely invited to the event and had no direct role in organising it.
The state government has handed the case to the CID for investigation and has also set up an inquiry committee to look into what caused the stampede.