The death of Bollywood playback singer KK seems to be stirring up a political row with BJP’s national vice-president Dilip Ghosh training his guns on the Mamata Banerjee-led Bengal government. He blamed the Kolkata administration for “utter chaos” during the KK’s concert.
Nazrul Mancha in Kolkata that hosted KK’s last performance.
The popular singer passed away at Kolkata’s Grand Hotel soon after he returned from the show. He had complained of heat during the show.
KK’s final song list.
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The auditorium was packed to capacity. According to some accounts, the venue exceeded its capacity as fans with and without passes crowded in and around the auditorium to catch a glimpse of their favourite singer.
A fan who attended the concert said there was a massive crowd. “The capacity of the auditorium was 2,500-3,000. But attendance was almost double,” the fan said.
In fact, the doors of the auditorium had come off their hinges, and bases of guard rails were cracked as the massive crowd pushed and shoved to get in.
The broken hinge of a door at the auditorium.
The cracked base of a guard rail outside the auditorium.
Among the many videos of the show, a clip of KK seemingly complaining about the heat in the auditorium has also surfaced. He is seen wiping his sweat on a towel and then talking to a team member, pointing upwards, seemingly towards the air conditioning.
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WHAT BJP’S DILIP GHOSH SAID
Reacting to such reports, Ghosh accused the government of “failing to provide proper protection to celebrities” and “losing control over administration”. “Mismanagement creates this type of a situation when a celebrity visits. The administration has a responsibility to provide protection to such celebrities,” he said.
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“Just imagine the state inside the hall after the AC was switched off in such heat. I don’t know if he became ill due to that, eventually leading to his demise. It seems the government doesn’t have any control,” Dilip Ghosh said.
HOW BENGAL GOVT IS REACTING TO KK’S DEATH
The West Bengal government is planning to accord a gun salute to the hugely popular KK at Kolkata airport before his body is flown out of the city. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is attending a district booth meeting in Bankura, said: “If the weather is decent, I shall travel via air to Kolkata. We will hold a gun salute for KK at Dum Dum airport.”
(With inputs from Suryagni Roy and Arindam Bhattacharya)