'Vulture politics': TMC after BJP, Congress question singer KK's death

The shocking death of singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK, after a concert in Kolkata has triggered political blame game with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress demanding an impartial probe, while the Trinamool Congress (TMC) asking it not to politicise the death.

BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya claimed the seating capacity of the venue where KK was performing was 3,000, but 7,000 people were reportedly present. He further alleged that the singer was mobbed and that the security arrangements were not in place.

"There should be an impartial investigation into the incident as there was a complete lapse on the part of the administration to ensure proper security arrangements. Around 7,000 people were reportedly present at the venue of the programme where the seating capacity was around 3,000 people. He was mobbed there, which means security arrangements were not in place for a VIP," BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.

Echoing him, BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra said strict action should be taken against the organisers. "What was the capacity of the hall and how many people were allowed entry? Was the air-conditioning enough for such a gathering? What was the oxygen level at the auditorium? These things need to be looked into," he tweeted in Bengali.

West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also demanded an inquiry by a "competent authority". "All said and done I do demand a thorough inquiry behind the sad demise of singer #KK by a competent authority. The prevailing ambience of the Najrul Mancha during his performance reveals many unsavoury questions including critical mismangement of the said platform which might have been triggered his death," he tweeted.

Meanwhile, reacting sharply to BJP's comments, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said the saffron party should stop its "vulture politics" and should not politicise an unfortunate incident.

"His death is really unfortunate, and all of us are really sad about it. But what the BJP is doing is not at all expected. The saffron camp should stop its vulture brand of politics. They should stop politicising death. We won't be astonished if BJP starts claiming that KK was their party leader," he said.

Ghosh said the administration is taking all measures and an investigation is underway.

Kolkata Mayor and Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim said air-conditioning was working but there was an overwhelming crowd.

"KK was a very popular singer and had a huge fan following among the young generation. I have heard that the capacity was around 2,800 but around 7,000 people had tried to enter the hall to have a glimpse of him and listen to his song.

"You can't ask the police to baton charge a crowd as they wanted to listen to his song. The air-conditioning was completely in order. I would request everyone not to politicise death," he said.

(With PTI inputs)