Stalin lashes out at Vijay and TVK in Assembly; political battle intensifies in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: A political row over the Karur stampede tragedy of September 27 has reached the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday blamed the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), the party founded by actor Vijay, for the incident that claimed 41 lives. Stalin said the tragedy occurred due to serious mismanagement in scheduling the event.

According to the police, the organisers had informed that the program would start at 3 p.m. and last for five hours. However, TVK later announced that Vijay would arrive at 12 noon, forcing police to change the security arrangements at the last minute. Stalin said that Vijay eventually arrived seven hours late, which led to a massive crowd build-up. Even the bus carrying Vijay could not move forward due to the crowd, and this was the main cause of the stampede, he added.

The Chief Minister also came down heavily on the TVK organisers, saying they failed to provide basic facilities like drinking water and enough toilets for women. He further alleged that TVK workers attacked two ambulance drivers who were trying to help the injured, damaging vehicles and injuring emergency responders. Cases have been registered in connection with these incidents, he told the Assembly.

Stalin dismissed TVK’s claim that the power supply was cut during the chaos, saying it was done only to prevent further danger by temporarily turning off the generators.

Meanwhile, Vijay and TVK blamed the authorities for poor management. However, the state government rejected the allegations, stating that adequate security arrangements had been made and presented a detailed explanation.

Based on estimates from Vijay’s previous rallies, the police had prepared for 20,000 people, though only 10,000 were expected. Over 500 police personnel were deployed. However, after the incident, it was found that around 25,000 people had attended the rally- more than double the expected number- which led to the collapse of barricades and the ensuing tragedy, Stalin said.

The BJP-led NDA MPs had also criticised the DMK government over the incident. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has ordered a CBI investigation into the stampede. A three-member panel, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Ajay Rastogi, will supervise the probe. The investigation has been welcomed by TVK. So far, two senior TVK functionaries- General Secretary N. Bussy Anand and Joint General Secretary Nirmal Shekhar- have been arrested in connection with the case.