Opposition Holds Government Responsible For Kasibugga Temple Stampede

“This is the third tragedy since the coalition government came to power. The government’s negligence is evident,” said Botsa Satyanarayana, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, demanding a judicial inquiry into the incident.

YSRC leaders, including former ministers Kurasala Kannababu and Dr Seediri Appalaraju, visited the stampede site and later met the injured victims undergoing treatment at Palasa Hospital. They accused Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu of showing “disinterest” by dismissing responsibility, citing that it was a private temple.

“When film actresses attend store openings, massive security is deployed. But when thousands of poor devotees gather for darshan, there’s no protection,” Kannababu remarked, noting that temple administrators had already informed police about the expected crowd for Ekadashi.

The opposition leaders cited previous tragedies under the current government — the Tirumala stampede in January, which claimed eight lives, and the Simhachalam wall collapse in April, which killed seven devotees — as evidence of a pattern of negligence.

“Does this government have any plan for crowd management, or is it only focused on its political agenda?” Botsa questioned, urging preventive measures and a high-level investigation into the Kasibugga incident.