Stampede incident: High Command has approved action taken by state govt, says CM Siddaramaiah

New Delhi/Bengaluru, June 10 Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said that the Congress high command has approved the actions taken by the state government in the wake of the June 4 stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium, claiming 11 lives.

Speaking to the media in the national capital after the meeting with the national leadership, CM Siddaramaiah stated that the stampede incident was discussed during the meeting with the high command.

"I have explained the actions taken by the state government regarding the incident," he said.

"I conveyed information about the ordering of the magisterial probe, the judicial probe by the one-man commission headed by retired High Court Judge John Michael D'Cunha, the suspension of five police officers, the transfer of the state intelligence chief, and the relieving of the Political Secretary. The high command has approved our actions. The national leadership feels that we have taken appropriate actions regarding the stampede incident," he added.

The Congress high command told Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Tuesday that, while they were concerned about the stampede that led to the loss of 11 precious lives, the party would not interfere with the functioning of the government during the course of the judicial enquiry, as per General Secretary K.C. Venugopal.

Earlier, Siddaramaiah and Dy CM Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress chief, met the national leadership, including Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and party President Mallikarjun Kharge, and briefed them about the stampede during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) victory celebrations on June 4.

Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala was also present at the meeting.

Venugopal said: "We discussed the current political situation, including the unfortunate and tragic stampede incident that happened in Bengaluru. The CM and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) President briefed the leadership about the incident and the action taken by the Karnataka government post-incident."

"Certainly, we are very much concerned about every human life. We are the party that believes every life matters more. An unfortunate incident happened. The Government of Karnataka has already ordered a judicial enquiry to find out what exactly occurred," Venugopal stated.

"During the course of the judicial enquiry, the party does not want to delve into the nitty-gritty of the issue. But, generally, the party has clearly viewed that there should be a clear-cut pro-people attitude on this as well."

He further stated that the meeting also discussed the caste census conducted by the Karnataka government.

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