MK Stalin termed the incident "deeply distressing and unfortunate". He stressed that such tragedies must never occur anywhere in the country.
Published Sep 29, 2025 | 3:26 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 29, 2025 | 4:19 PM
Vijay during the political rally in Karur.
Synopsis: As many as 41 people have been killed, and scores of others were injured in the deadly crowd crush at actor Vijay’s political rally in Karur on Saturday. Yet, major political parties in Tamil Nadu are reluctant to name either TVK or its leader, Vijay, though there is no dearth of statements.
Tamil Nadu’s official reaction to the deadly stampede in Karur, has been guarded.
Though Chief Minister MK Stalin said the incident should serve as an example for political parties in organising events, he refrained from naming the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) or actor-politician Vijay.
As many as 41 people were killed, and more than 60 others injured, in a stampede at Velumchamypuram in Tamil Nadu’s Karur on Saturday, 27 September, when an impatient crowd surged forward to catch a glimpse of Vijay at a TVK rally.
Initial reports suggested violation of crowd-management norms, defiance of police directives, and late arrival of the actor had led to the fatal crowd crush.
In a video message released on Monday, 29 September, Stalin termed the incident “deeply distressing and unfortunate”. He stressed that such tragedies must never occur anywhere in the country.
“Tamil Nadu has always been a model state,” he said, while emphasising the need to ensure that incidents of this nature are prevented in the future.
Stalin pointed out that the Karur tragedy served as an example of how responsibly political parties must conduct their public gatherings, strictly following safety regulations. He further said no political leader would ever wish for their supporters or the public to lose their lives.
The chief minister also appealed to people not to spread rumors or false information on social media regarding the tragedy.
Stalin, who reached Karur early on Sunday, did not identify TVK or Vijay in his message.
Stalin’s statement came even as AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday said adequate police security would have averted the tragedy.
“The state government and police are not providing full protection to events organised by opposition parties. Had full police protection been provided, we could have prevented the stampede and death,” he said.
Palaniswami said “the party leader” should have closely observed the situation, and “he” should have assessed and rectified the shortcomings. The AIADMK leader, too, refrained from naming Vijay.
On Sunday, Palaniswami said Vijay had mocked at the presence of an ambulance at the meeting. The AIADMK leader said he watched it on television, and demanded that it must be investigated.
“Anything could have happened in such a situation,” he said about the TVK rally.
Palaniswami accused the DMK of double standards. He said whenever the DMK organised a meeting, the entire district police would be deployed for security even if not required. But even basic facilities were denied for opposition parties’ meetings. He was speaking to reporters in Karur.
On Saturday, BJP’s former state president K Annamalai had named both TVK and Vijay in a post on X.
Meanwhile, the TVK counsel raised five issues. Hours after the stampede, TVK said that it suspected a conspiracy.
The issues raised were:
Soon after the Saturday’s incident, Vijay had left for Chennai, evading media questions at the Trichy Airport.
The TVK’s legal team has filed a petition in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court seeking a CBI probe into the stampede. They also requested the court to direct authorities to preserve CCTV footage and other documents from the site of the tragedy.
A lawyer representing TVK said the petition mentioned that around 40 people lost their lives at party leader Vijay’s Karur rally due to police lapses and confusion caused by certain senior DMK district secretaries and officials. The plea argues that the state police should not investigate the case and that it must be handed over to the CBI.
The petition further alleges power cuts, unnecessary lathi-charges, and even claims that some DMK members had posted on Facebook beforehand, suggesting such incidents could occur.
Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan visited Karur on Monday.
The ministers first inspected the scene of the stampede, where footwear and personal belongings of the victims still lay scattered. They later visited the Karur Government Medical College Hospital to enquire about the condition of those undergoing treatment.
Later, Sitharaman and Murugan travelled to Emoor Puthur village, which had lost five residents in the tragedy. They met with the bereaved families, offered condolences, and assured them of government support.
