KARUR: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Friday slammed the DMK for attempting to gain "political mileage" from the tragic stampede here last year and restraining him from visiting the district.
In his first visit here since the 2025 stampede that killed 41 persons, Vijay faulted the police for not alerting him about the swelling crowd at the TVK venue on September 27 last, nor taking any steps to cancel the meeting as the crowd had become unmanageable to control.
"The police could have alerted us that the crowd was swelling and become unmanageable to control. The police have all the right to cancel the meeting. Without doing so, the police escorted us on the highway," Vijay said during his first visit here after taking up the reins as chief minister in May.
Vijay could not meet the affected 41 families in Karur last year but had those affected families were brought near Chennai and he personally consoled them.
At the meeting today, Vijay said "I trusted the police fully and even thanked them at the meeting. I didn't know about the drama. Who is responsible for this. Under whose instruction was all this done," he asked.
"They tried to gain political mileage," out of the tragedy, he said in an apparent reference to the DMK, then in the ruling saddle.
He said the Karur stampede has caused him immense anguish.
"We have lost children of our sisters in 2025 Karur stampede," he said.
The CM, clad in black attire, also announced to establish a memorial on behalf of his party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) for the victims of the Karur stampede.
Later, he took out a road show, with people queuing up on either sides of the road in good numbers. He waved at them and greeted them with folded hands.