Children died, no one can bear this loss: DK Shivakumar breaks down on camera after B'luru stampede
Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar broke down on camera while addressing the media on the tragic stampede outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru that claimed eleven lives and left several others injured.
A visibly shaken Shivakumar said the victims included children as young as 15, and the loss was unbearable. “I’ve seen with my eyes at least ten people who passed away. No family can digest this loss,” he said, choking back tears.
Recounting the events leading up to the tragedy, Shivakumar explained how rapidly the situation escalated. He revealed that the Police Commissioner urgently asked him to wind up the event within ten minutes due to rising concerns. “He told me that 1–2 lives have been lost. Rush the event, finish it in 10 minutes,” Shivakumar said.
Reacting to criticism from the opposition, Shivakumar urged for empathy during the tragedy. “Let the opposition do politics on dead bodies. I will list how many dead bodies they have done politics on. But it hurts to see the little children. I have seen their pain," he stated.
On Wednesday, he acknowledged that the crowd was far larger than expected, stating, “The stadium has a capacity of 35,000, but over three lakh people were present. We never anticipated such a massive turnout.” He also apologised for the failure in crowd control, adding, “This incident happened where the gates were broken. We fully apologise for this.”
Meanwhile, State Home Minister G. Parameshwara announced that the Karnataka government will soon introduce a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for mega events, meetings, and celebrations to prevent such tragedies in the future.
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PM Modi, myself don't have 'wife issue': Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): In a friendly banter, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he didn’t have "the wife issue", as the Congress MP emphasised that everyone has learnt from women in their lives.
Participating in a debate in the Lok Sabha on the three bills introduced for amendments to the women's quota law and setting up a delimitation commission, Gandhi said women are a driving force in the national imagination and national perspective.
"All of us in this room have been influenced, taught, and have learnt a lot from women in our lives – from mothers, sisters, wives," Gandhi said.
"Of course, the prime minister and myself don't have the wife issue, so we don't get that input, but we have our mothers and sisters," he said while referring to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju's light-hearted remark that he got a scolding at home as he did not pen a poem for his wife like Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal did.
Gandhi also lauded his sister and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi's speech in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
"Yesterday, I was watching my sister achieve in five minutes what I have not been able to do in 20 years of my political career – make Amit Shah Ji smile," Gandhi said to peals of laughter.
