Opposition playing politics over Karur: RS Bharathi

CHENNAI: DMK organising secretary RS Bharathi on Sunday accused opposition parties, including the AIADMK, BJP and TVK, of indulging in “petty and opportunistic politics” over the Karur tragedy, alleging that they were attempting to “mislead both the judiciary and the people of the State.”

In a statement, Bharathi said that Chief Minister MK Stalin had shown exemplary sensitivity by standing with the bereaved families immediately after the incident and by ordering swift relief measures. A one-member inquiry commission headed by retired judge Justice Aruna Jegadeesan was constituted, alongside a Special Investigation Team formed by the Madras High Court, he noted, adding that both inquiries were being carried out with “complete transparency and fairness.”

However, Bharathi claimed that the opposition was “trying to deceive the court through fabricated petitions.” He cited the case of Panneerselvam, a victim’s father who had filed a petition seeking a CBI probe, but whose wife later revealed that he had been estranged from the family and was influenced by TVK functionaries for monetary gain. Similarly, another victim’s husband, Selvaraj, alleged through a video statement that a forged signature had been used in his name to file a CBI petition, reportedly facilitated by an AIADMK functionary.

The former MP further charged that TVK, with the “tacit backing of the AIADMK and BJP,” was “exploiting the grief of the victims for cheap political mileage.” Calling the BJP a “washing machine that seeks to cleanse the corrupt,” he said the opposition’s actions amounted to “mocking justice and betraying public trust.”