Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over its decision to send a delegation of opposition MPs to Karur, where a tragic stampede at a rally led by actor and TVK chief Vijay last week claimed the lives of 41 people.
Stalin accused the BJP of politicising the tragedy ahead of the 2026 state election, pointing out that no such fact-finding team was sent to BJP-governed states after similar or worse incidents. “No probe panel was sent to Manipur after the ethnic violence in May 2023, or for the stampede during the Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh. But delegates were sent to Karur immediately. This is not out of concern for Tamil Nadu... but for electoral gain,” Stalin said.
Earlier this week, an eight-member BJP delegation led by actor and MP Hema Malini visited Karur, met families of the victims and those injured, and squarely blamed the state administration for the tragedy. “For a star of his stature, giving a small road was unfair. Many women and young girls had come to see Vijay. If a bigger space had been allotted, this tragedy would not have happened,” Hema Malini told reporters.
She further alleged that the Tamil Nadu government had failed to grant TVK’s request for a larger venue, suggesting this refusal directly contributed to the incident. The BJP delegation has called for a report from the Chief Minister detailing the causes of the stampede. Former Union Minister Anurag Thakur, one of the MPs in the delegation, wrote to Stalin seeking clarity on steps being taken to prevent such tragedies in the future.
Since the stampede, political blame games have escalated. The ruling DMK has alleged that the TVK ignored warnings from the local police about crowd control and rising numbers. Tamil Nadu Police officials have confirmed that warnings were indeed issued to event organisers, but these were not adequately addressed.
The TVK, on its part, has pushed back against the accusations, claiming the incident was part of a larger "conspiracy" orchestrated by the DMK to destabilise the party before the election. In his first public statement since the incident, Vijay accused Chief Minister Stalin of engaging in “vendetta politics”.
Amid this growing political storm, the TVK has approached the Madras High Court, seeking a federal probe into the incident. The party has also asked the court to ensure Vijay is not barred from visiting the bereaved families, anticipating potential resistance from the state government.
