Bengaluru, June 4 -- Following the stampede near the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that he would not justify the mishap by drawing comparisons with similar tragedies elsewhere, like in Kumbh Mela.

Speaking to the media, Siddaramaiah said that he did not criticise when several people lost their lives in a stampede at the Mahakumbh.

"Such incidents happened in so many places. I am not going to defend this by comparing it with them now by saying it happened here and there. In Kumbh Mela, 50-60 people died, I didn't criticise it," he said.

"If Congress criticises, then that is a different matter. Did I or the Karnataka government criticise?" CM Siddaramaiah said.

Addressing a pre...