Vijay to meet people; first meeting after Karur tragedy to be held at an engineering college tomorrow

CHENNAI: Actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay is all set to meet the public. TVK aims to hold small meetings involving people from each district of Tamil Nadu. Its first meeting will be held tomorrow at the Jeppiaar Institute of Technology campus located in the Kanchipuram district of Tamil Nadu. The meeting will be held at 11 am.

"We are planning to hold small meetings in each district with only 2,000 registered participants. We will hold the meeting safely by following special procedures," a TVK representative told the national media.

The Tamil Nadu government had submitted a draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for road shows and other public gatherings to the Madras High Court following the court's order. The draft proposes making political parties and organisers responsible for public safety, penalising them for violations, and holding them liable for any property damage. The High Court had asked the state to submit the report by November 21 after seeking comments from political parties. The SOP was prepared in the wake of the fatal stampede during a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) rally in Karur.

TVK and other political parties alleged that they did not receive a copy. The government has informed the court that it is not the final report, that there are about 20 recognised political parties and 42 registered parties in the state, and that any party with a complaint about the rules can comment on the SOP.