CHENNAI: CPM general secretary MA Baby, on Friday, charged that TVK president actor Vijay’s seven-hour delay in reaching the Karur campaign venue was the reason for the stampede.

The actor’s ‘disappearance’ along with the party leaders soon after the tragedy was unbecoming of an upcoming political leader, the senior CPM leader said.

A six-member CPM delegation, headed by Baby, visited the bereaved families in Karur and consoled the members, assuring the injured of all possible support.

The area committee members would oversee relief works, and after a year, a delegation would also revisit the families for a review of the situation, the CPM said.

While speaking to reporters, Baby lauded the Tamil Nadu government for appointing Justice Aruna Jagadeesan to conduct an inquiry.

He applauded Justice Aruna Jagadeesan for her impartial investigations into the anti-Sterlite firing tragedy during the AIADMK regime. “I appreciate the actions of the State government and the Chief Minister MK Stalin. He personally sent his ministers to visit the spot as soon as the incident took place, and the CM himself visited the spot immediately,” Baby said.

Appreciating the medical team for their exceptional work from the beginning, Baby said that their continuous efforts saved every injured person except two. “The way in which the postmortems were conducted on a war footing was a record in a situation. The Tamil Nadu government has done an exceptional job,” lauded Baby.

Referring to a 14-year-old survivor, Sakthivel, Baby said, the boy recalled that there was no regulation by the organisers.