NEW DELHI, 5 JUNE

The BJP on Thursday demanded the resignation of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, holding the Congress government in the state responsible for the Bengaluru stampede.

Eleven people died and 33 were injured in the stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru as thousands of RCB fans gathered to catch a glimpse of the team after their first-ever IPL win.

BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that the "mutual fight and rift" between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar led to the state "government-manufactured stampede".

He recalled last year's arrest of Telugu actor Allu Arjun in a stampede case in Telangana, where the Congress is in power, and asked if the party would follow the same rule in Karnataka and arrest its two senior leaders.

He also slammed Rahul Gandhi and asked him to break his silence on the incident, make the chief minister and the deputy chief minister step down.

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Shivakumar, meanwhile, turned emotional over the loss of lives due to the stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium and said that Bengaluru has lost its image due to the incident.

Reacting to allegations by the opposition that police had not given permission for celebrations, he said, " I don't want to react to any of these BJP guys. I am only answerable to the people of Karnataka and people of the country. All BJP persons are nonsense... They are also the mastermind of these dirty things."