Finally, Vijay meets Karur victims’ kin; netizens slam ‘insensitivity’

CHENNAI: A month after the stampede in Karur that claimed 41 lives during TVK president Vijay's rally on September 27, the bereaved families met the actor-politician at a resort in Mahabalipuram on Monday, where they 'received' his assurance of support.

The meeting, held at a luxury resort, stirred outrage on social media, with many criticising it as "insensitive" and "staged", and questioned why the grieving families were made to travel nearly 400 km to meet Vijay instead of him personally visiting them in Karur.

According to party insiders, families of 37 deceased people, about 235 people in total, were brought to Chennai in eight buses and accommodated at a high-end, seaside resort on Sunday night. Vijay arrived there from his Neelankarai residence on Monday morning to meet them privately and offered condolences.

Vijay reportedly met each family in separate rooms, broke down upon seeing the photographs of the deceased, and even fell at the feet of parents who had lost their children, pleading with them to forgive him. "I don't know how to console you for such an unbearable loss," he reportedly told them. He assured the families of his continued support, promising assistance for education, employment, and marriage needs, and vowing to fulfil all their requests.

The manner in which the meeting was conducted has invited severe criticism online. Social media users called the event "a show of staged sympathy". "If he truly wanted to console them, he should have gone to Karur, not made them travel to a resort near Chennai," said one.

While supporters portrayed the meeting as a gesture of compassion, many criticised that the optics reflected poor political judgment and emotional detachment.