Compassion cannot be selective: why Bengaluru deserved the same empathy as Karur

 

The tragic stampede in Karur, Tamil Nadu, which left scores dead, saw an immediate response from the Centre. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, followed by a delegation of BJP MPs, rushed to the spot, met families of the victims, and assured them of the Modi government’s solidarity. More importantly, Sitharaman announced financial assistance from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund — ₹2 lakh to the families of the deceased and ₹50,000 to those injured. This was an appropriate step, one that reflected sensitivity and duty.

But the BJP silence in Bengaluru after its own stampede tragedy speaks volumes. That incident, which claimed dozens of lives in the state’s capital, saw no senior BJP leader from Delhi visit the site, no appearance at hospitals, and no words of solace to the grieving. Crucially, no compensation from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund was announced. Even Nirmala Sitharaman, who represents Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha, stayed away. The contrast is stark — and politically costly.

When tragedies strike, governance is tested not by selective gestures but by uniform compassion. A bereaved family in Karur and one in Bengaluru are no different in their pain. Yet, by extending relief in one case and withholding it in the other, the Centre has fuelled a perception of bias. It appears less like a national government and more like a political machine that calibrates sympathy according to electoral arithmetic.

This selective approach hands BJP’s detractors a powerful argument. They can now point, with evidence, to the hollowness of slogans like “sabka saath, sabka vikas.” If empathy is extended only where it helps score points, the promise of fair-minded governance crumbles. More than opposition rhetoric, it is the government’s own choices that are creating this narrative of partiality.

The issue is not just political but moral. Disasters demand fairness. Relief cannot be rationed by geography or party rule. By treating Bengaluru differently, the Centre has undermined its own credibility. Citizens do not expect miracles; they expect equal compassion. When they see otherwise, bitterness replaces trust.

For Karnataka, the slight cuts deeper. The state is already governed by the Congress, BJP’s principal rival. In such a context, the Centre’s neglect is seen not as oversight but as deliberate step-motherly treatment. This may not cause an immediate electoral wave, but it quietly erodes the BJP’s moral authority in a state where it hopes to bounce back. People remember betrayals in grief far longer than they remember subsidies or slogans.

Good governance is not about grand projects alone. It is about fairness in small but crucial moments — showing up when citizens need reassurance the most. Selective sympathy damages both politics and governance. It weakens credibility, deepens divides, and makes slogans ring hollow. If the BJP wishes to retain its claim as a truly national party, it cannot afford to treat one tragedy with compassion and another with silence. Equal grief deserves equal response. Anything less is not governance — it is politics at its worst.