Ahead of CM Vijay’s visit to Karur, Left objects to govt jobs for kin of stampede victims

CHENNAI: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay will visit Karur on Friday to meet the families of those who died in the Karur stampede and announce a series of welfare measures, including handing over compassionate appointment orders to 32 eligible members of the victims' families as part of the government's relief and rehabilitation package.

The move, which had drawn criticisms from political rivals, has now attracted objections from allies, CPI and CPM, who questioned the propriety of the decision, especially when the probe into the stampede is under way.

In a social media post, CPM state secretary P Shanmugam questioned whether the TVK government was using its executive authority to provide government jobs because the victims had died during a TVK campaign event.

He also pointed out that the investigation into the Karur stampede was still under way and said announcements of this nature before the completion of the probe could dilute the case.

Drawing a distinction between a political party extending assistance and the government offering public employment, Shanmugam said the party concerned could take responsibility by securing private sector jobs for the affected families, but government jobs stood on a different footing.

He urged the government to formulate comprehensive guidelines governing the grant of government jobs to victims and families affected by various incidents. Until such a policy is framed, the government should keep its announcement on providing jobs to the Karur stampede victims in abeyance, he said.

In a separate social media post, CPI leader K Subbarayan, the Lok Sabha member from Tirupur, said providing government jobs to families of those who die in such incidents at political meetings would set a wrong precedent and have serious repercussions. History would record the decision as an abuse of power and warned that it could create severe challenges for the government in the future, he cautioned.

Subbarayan argued that the responsibility to compensate families of those who lose their lives at political events rests with the party that organises the meeting. Stating that TVK was fully capable of discharging that responsibility, he said the party should not evade its obligation and shift the burden on to the government, adding that such a course was unacceptable in a democratic political system.