MK Stalin Blames Actor Vijay's 7-Hour Delay for Karur Stampede That Killed 41

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin (File).

Chennai:

The political controversy surrounding the Karur stampede of September 27 reached the Assembly on Wednesday as Chief Minister MK Stalin directly criticized actor Vijay and his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party for the incident that resulted in 41 fatalities.

Stalin attributed the tragedy to significant scheduling issues by the TVK organization.

According to the Chief Minister, police were initially informed about a five-hour event starting at 3 pm. However, the party later announced Vijay would arrive by noon, requiring police to adjust their deployment plans. Stalin stated that Vijay ultimately arrived seven hours behind schedule, triggering a crowd surge that impeded even his own bus.

"This stands as a critical factor in the stampede," the Chief Minister declared, further criticizing TVK organizers for "failing to provide essential facilities like drinking water and sufficient women's restrooms" while also accusing TVK personnel of "attacking" two ambulance drivers.

Stalin informed the Assembly that these emergency workers were injured while attempting to assist victims, and their vehicles were damaged. He confirmed police cases have been registered regarding these incidents.

Addressing TVK's allegation about the state cutting electricity supply, Stalin explained that generators were shut down to prevent further accidents.

What happened?

The stampede occurred at a political rally where Vijay was scheduled to appear, marking an important event for his TVK party ahead of its electoral debut next year. The actor's delayed arrival caused the waiting crowd to grow increasingly dense and eventually unmanageable, leading to a deadly crush that claimed lives of women and children among others.

The Karur stampede

Following the incident, TVK and Vijay accused Stalin and his Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government of orchestrating a "vendetta" to undermine his political rival before elections.

Vijay also pointed to poor management by local authorities and police as contributing factors.

The Tamil Nadu government subsequently issued a comprehensive response, defending its handling of the event and maintaining that appropriate security and medical arrangements had been provided.

Stalin reinforced these points during his Assembly address this morning.

"Requests for rallies at Lighthouse Corner and Uzhavar Market were denied," he explained, noting these locations are crowded areas unsuitable for large political gatherings.

Permission was eventually granted for the Karur ground, albeit with 11 specific conditions, the Chief Minister stated. Local police made substantial arrangements for crowd safety, deploying over 500 officers plus nearly 100 additional personnel from outside regions.

While organizers projected attendance of 10,000 people, authorities prepared for twice that number based on Vijay's previous events. Even these enhanced preparations proved inadequate, as post-incident estimates placed the actual attendance around 25,000.

The Chief Minister maintained that despite thorough planning, the crowd size substantially exceeded expectations, resulting in chaos when barriers were breached.

'Total mismanagement': NDA MPs

Criticism of Vijay and TVK has also come from MPs of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Their eight-member panel's report cited "complete administrative collapse" as the cause of the tragedy, while also faulting the DMK for mismanagement.

The Supreme Court has ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the stampede, a decision welcomed by TVK. This investigation will be overseen by a three-member panel led by former Supreme Court Justice Ajay Rastogi.

To date, two TVK functionaries have been arrested, with cases filed against senior leaders N 'Bussy' Anand, the General Secretary, and Joint General Secretary Nirmal Sekar.