Karur stampede: In Assembly, CM Stalin blames Vijay's delayed arrival and poor crowd planning; AIADMK stages walkout

CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday said the Karur stampede, which claimed 41 lives, had shocked the state and left families grieving, according to a Daily Thanthi report. Expressing condolences to the victims’ families, he said the tragedy occurred due to a seven-hour delay in the arrival of actor and TVK chief Vijay and inadequate arrangements by the organisers.

The event, he said, had been permitted with 11 conditions and given more security than usual political meetings. However, there was no proper arrangement for drinking water, food, or toilets for the crowd that had gathered hours earlier. Stalin pointed out that just two days before, an AIADMK meeting at the same venue was held in an orderly manner, but the TVK rally in Karur spiralled into chaos.

The Chief Minister said that while ambulances had rushed in to rescue the victims, some were attacked by protesters, adding that a total of 606 police personnel and officials had been deployed for security.

Autopsies were conducted the same night to enable prompt handover of the bodies to the families. Reiterating that political parties must act responsibly and follow safety norms during public gatherings, the CM said the government handled the incident as per law and would abide by the Supreme Court’s final verdict. He urged all political parties to ensure such tragedies never recur.

TVK ignored police warnings

CM Stalin says the Karur tragedy occurred as TVK ignored police warnings and insisted on holding the meeting only at the approved venue. He noted that the party’s campaign vehicle moved ahead despite police advice to stop near a hospital, and the leader’s seven-hour delay triggered the crowd surge. The Chief Minister said no ambulances entered before the stampede and those that came for rescue were attacked by party workers, affecting relief efforts.

AIADMK stages walkout

Opposition leader Edappadi K Palaniswami said the tragedy could have been avoided if full security had been provided and blamed the government for failing to take precautionary measures. When he sought to delete certain remarks from the record, heated arguments broke out between the Treasury and Opposition benches. Speaker M Appavu warned that action would be taken if the disruptions continued and urged members to return to their seats, following which AIADMK MLAs staged a sit-in protest and later walked out of the Assembly.