Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has responded sharply to BJP’s criticism over the recent stampede incident near Chinnaswamy Stadium.
When asked about BJP's demand that the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister take responsibility for the incident, Shivakumar retorted, “Stampedes have occurred in railway stations in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. In UP, hundreds died in a temple stampede. Who is responsible for those? Did I blame the central government when I was in Ahmedabad just two days ago?”
Speaking at a World Environment Day marathon event organized by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board near Vidhana Soudha, he added, “They have always done politics over corpses. Be it during bandhs or in the Gangadhar murder case, they have a history of this.”
“The government has already taken action in the recent stampede case. An inquiry commission has been appointed. Such incidents have happened across the country, but the Congress party has never politicized tragedies.”
Taking a dig at BJP’s constant targeting of him, he said, “The stronger you are, the more enemies you have. If you’re weak, there are fewer. If you have no strength, you have no enemies. They are scared of us. If the media stands with us, we’ll take oath again at Vidhana Soudha in 2028.”
When asked if he would be the next CM, he replied, “The Congress government will take oath again.”
On being asked about the High Court’s interim stay on the garbage disposal re-tendering process, Shivakumar responded, “How can we keep the city clean if we don’t act? I’ll review the judgment. Previously, there were 89 tenders. The same people formed a group, a mafia. They think they can derail us, but we’ll explain the matter to the court.”
He added, “A group is using PILs and stay orders as intimidation tactics. But this won’t work with our government. We’ll remove the old players and give opportunities to new ones.”
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New Delhi (PTI): Left parties on Wednesday said the new bills that provide for the removal of the prime minister or chief ministers arrested on serious criminal charges, are a direct "assault" on democracy and the federal framework, and vowed to oppose it "tooth and nail".
The government plans to introduce three bills in Parliament on Wednesday for the removal of the prime minister, a Union minister, a chief minister or a minister of a state or Union Territory when arrested or detained on serious criminal charges for 30 days in a row
Flaying the move, CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby said on X that "Modi Govt's 3 bills to oust PM, CMs, Ministers after 30 days in custody expose its neo-fascist characteristics. This direct assault on our democracy will be opposed by CPIM tooth and nail. We urge all democratic forces to unite against this draconian move".
"These bills, cloaked as tackling crime in high office, reveal their true intent given the RSS-controlled Modi govt's history of undermining elected state govts. With SIR, they mark a blatant move to subvert our democracy. All democratic forces must resist," he said on X.
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas called the bills "draconian".
"The new bill by Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah, purportedly in the name of 'public interest, welfare, and good governance,' is, in reality, draconian and designed to destabilize opposition-led state governments while undermining India’s federal structure," Brittas said in a post on X.
"In an era marked by vindictive politics, where central agencies are deployed against opposition leaders, the provisions will be misused for ulterior motives," he said. The CPI(M) leader said the bill’s reference to “constitutional morality” contradicts its spirit, as it deviates from the established principle that disqualification and punishment should be tied to convictions by courts, not merely charges or arrests. "This principle is clearly enshrined in Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act (RPA). In today’s pernicious political climate, where individuals can be easily charged, arrested, and detained for extended periods, this legislation will be weaponised to target political opponents and erode democratic norms," he said.
CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said the bills will sound the "death knell" for federalism.
"Viewed together with the ongoing systematic subversion of the electoral system starting with the appointment of Election Commissioners to the relentless push for 'One Nation, One Election' system, this amendment will sound the death knell for federalism and parliamentary democracy in India," Bhattacharya said.
"Every state government opposed to the BJP's politics and policies will henceforth be rendered permanently destabilised and dysfunctional. Every NDA ally will be on tenterhooks to fall in line with the BJP," he said in a statement.
"The weaponisation of central agencies like ED, CBI, IT, NIA and the abuse of the Constitutional office of Governors in narrow partisan interest, a trend which has been seriously condemned on several occasions even by the Supreme Court, will now gain legal validity with the enactment of this bill," he added.
The three bills were approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday.
These bills are the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill 2025; the Constitution (One Hundred And Thirtieth Amendment) Bill 2025; and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill 2025. The Bills are likely to be referred to a committee of Parliament.