Only conditional permission given for cricket matches at Chinnaswamy Stadium: Minister
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Sunday said permission to host cricket matches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium has been granted only on a conditional basis, subject to strict compliance with prescribed safety norms.
Speaking to reporters here, Parameshwara said a high-level committee was constituted based on the recommendations of the Justice John Michael Cunha Committee to examine the situation at the stadium.
"The committee conducted a detailed inspection and submitted its report. Based on that report, permission has been granted to the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) to organise matches," he said.
Parameshwara said several specific conditions had been imposed on the KSCA.
"All modifications and corrective measures recommended by the committee must be completed within the stipulated timeframe. The KSCA has already begun the work and has given a written assurance that all required changes will be carried out," he said.
Reiterating that the approval was conditional, he added that the stadium would be inspected again before any match is held.
Parameshwara said a committee headed by Greater Bengaluru Authority Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao was also formed to assess the overall condition of the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and its report had been taken into account.
He said the matter was discussed in detail in the Cabinet.
"Decisions have been taken on the steps to be implemented in the short term and the long term. Since IPL matches are scheduled to be held in March, all short-term conditions must be fulfilled before that. Permission has been granted subject to these conditions," he said.
The minister said the government had placed trust in the assurances given by the KSCA.
"We will conduct another inspection to verify whether all the conditions have been fully complied with," he added.
Cricket matches at the stadium were suspended after a stampede during Royal Challengers Bangalore’s IPL title celebrations last June claimed 13 lives.
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BJP has history of ‘contradictory alliances’, says BK Hariprasad
Bengaluru: Congress MLC B. K. Hariprasad has launched a sharp attack on the BJP, accusing the party of hypocrisy over its criticism of alliance politics in Tamil Nadu.
In a post on X on Friday, Hariprasad said BJP leader B. L. Santhosh criticising the Congress party’s alliance politics in Tamil Nadu was “not just laughable, but the height of political contradiction.”
He said the Congress has always joined hands with like-minded parties to protect secular and democratic values in the country.
Hariprasad questioned the BJP over several of its past and present alliances across the country. Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tripura, Bihar and Maharashtra, he accused the BJP of sharing power with parties it had earlier criticised.
He alleged that the BJP had aligned with separatist and corruption-linked political forces in different states for political gains.
“The BJP, which speaks against alliances today, should first look at its own political history,” he said, adding that the party’s record was full of “contradictions and changing stands.”
Hariprasad also accused the BJP of using central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department and CBI as political tools to target opposition leaders, topple governments and influence electoral mandates.
He further claimed that the people of Tamil Nadu had strongly rejected the BJP and its ideology in the recent election.
“Congress forms alliances to protect the Constitution, secularism and national unity, while the BJP enters into alliances only for power,” he said.
