Bengaluru: Hours after the stampede at the RCB victory celebration in Bengaluru, the political heat around the incident has intensified, with BJP and JD(S) launching a scathing attack on the Congress govt. Citing poor planning, negligence, and crowd mismanagement, both parties have demanded a judicial inquiry into the tragedy, calling it an avoidable disaster. “It is heartbreaking to see such loss because of poor planning and crowd mismanagement. The state govt clearly failed in its responsibility. Celebrations are one thing, but the state govt, without proper planning and without taking emergency services into confidence, took this urgent and unfortunate decision. This could have been avoided. The govt is responsible for this, and accountability needs to be fixed,” said Union minister Pralhad Joshi. BJP state president BY Vijayendra also held the govt squarely responsible for what transpired. “It was the state govt’s urgency to organise the victory rally that led to the tragedy. The govt was more worried about publicity than the safety of the people. I urge the state govt to take up the responsibility and order a judicial probe,” said Vijayendra, who visited a hospital where several of the injured are being treated. “It is apparent that the state govt has completely failed to make adequate arrangements and necessary arrangements. The failure of such an incompetent and irresponsible state govt has cast a shadow over the celebrations. Even though lakhs of fans were likely to attend, if they could not make arrangements, why did they allow the event? This incompetent govt must be held responsible for the tragedy that could have been prevented by taking precautions,” former CM BS Yediyurappa said in a post on X. BJP MP Tejasvi Surya also slammed the govt. “What should have been a celebration of joy & loyalty turned out to be so fatal. While the state govt & leadership were busy hogging their undeserving share of limelight in RCB’s victory with the CM himself making an open invitation for the celebration, no arrangements were made on the ground,” Surya said on X. “Despite being aware of the situation from last night, the govt failed to plan this out & took bizarre last-minute decisions. Steps must be taken immediately to compensate the victims & hold the concerned accountable. This is not what the people of Bengaluru & @RCBTweets deserved,” he said. JD(S) leader and Union minister HD Kumaraswamy also trained guns on the govt. “The state govt must take full responsibility for this disaster. Along with ensuring the injured receive the best possible treatment, the govt must immediately reach out to support the families of the deceased,” he said. Ironically, hours before the tragedy, BJP and JD(S) had attacked the state govt for denying RCB a formal victory parade, alleging that the govt cited “law and order” as a pretext to block celebrations. “Giving an excuse of a law-and-order situation, the Congress govt has denied the RCB team a victory parade. Having won the cup after 18 years, the decision has left a lot of RCB fans disappointed,” stated official BJP and JD(S) social media handles. “Though it provides protection to its own party events, the RCB team was not provided one,” they remarked.Despite the mounting criticism, deputy chief minister and Bengaluru district minister DK Shivakumar defended his govt stating preparations were made for around 1 lakh attendees, but crowd estimates surged past 4 lakh. The situation turned critical after a slab maintained by BBMP reportedly collapsed, triggering panic and stampede situation, he added. “I will not blame my police department. They did the best they could. But the crowd was unmanageable. We could not use our lathis on the crowd as they assembled for a joyous occasion,” he said. Deeply saddenedAICC president Mallikarjun Kharge stated, “I am deeply saddened by the tragic stampede in Bengaluru during the celebrations of RCB’s IPL 2025 victory. The loss of precious lives and the injuries sustained by many in this unfortunate incident are profoundly distressing. The state govt and relevant authorities must immediately review and strengthen safety protocols for such events to prevent any recurrence of such a tragedy. The joy of victory should never come at the cost of lives.”