Karur stampede: TN Assembly witnesses pandemonium as political blame game rages

The Tamil Nadu Assembly witnessed heated arguments, a pandemonium and the opposition walkout on Wednesday over the deadly stampede in Karur, which claimed 41 lives.

 

While Chief Minister M.K. Stalin held actor-politician Vijay accountable for the tragedy, Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami blamed the government for the alleged security lapses. 

 

Explaining the various measures taken in the wake of the stampede, Stalin said the government was in the process of coming up with a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to prevent such tragic incidents. The further action will be based on the final judgement of the Supreme Court, he added.

 

During his 15-minute speech, Stalin did not name Vijay directly, but referred to him only as the “leader of that party”. He cautiously criticised the TVK chief for not making adequate arrangements, including drinking water and washroom facilities for women. 

 

The chief minister asserted that elaborate security arrangements were made under the supervision of the Karur Superintendent of Police, and a total of 616 policemen were deployed.

 

“This was a higher security deployment than what would normally be assigned to political meetings. The organisers had estimated a crowd of around 10,000 people, but anticipating a larger turnout, police made additional security arrangements," Salin said.

 

He also pointed out the late arrival of Vijay. “In their permission letter, the organisers had informed the district administration that the rally would be held between 3 pm and 10 pm. However, the party’s general secretary had announced through social media that their leader would arrive in Karur at 12 noon. As a result, people began gathering early, but the party leader arrived only at 7 pm, seven hours later. This delay was a major factor behind the swelling of the crowd,” Stalin said. 

 

He also recalled Karur DSP’s advice to the organisers to stop the TVK leader’s campaign vehicle near Akshaya hospital.

 

Stalin explained the actions taken by the government after the stampede, including the two FIRs registered at the Karur police station.

 

Opposition unimpressed

 

Opposition leader Palaniswami attacked the government for its "failure" to take precautionary measures and for the alleged security lapse. 

 

“The TVK leader had addressed campaign meetings in four districts before Karur. Were the government and the state intelligence unaware of the crowd strength at those meetings? Had adequate security been provided, the tragic incident could have been avoided. The government failed to take precautionary steps," he said.

 

The AIADMK MLAs who participated in the Assembly proceedings, wearing black armbands, got into heated arguments with the treasury bench and later staged a walkout. 

 

Shift in political equations?

 

On September 28, a day after the stampede, while speaking to reporters after visiting the injured in the hospital, Palaniswami was of the opinion that the TVK and its leader Vijay should learn lessons by watching the rallies and meetings organised by political parties like AIADMK. 

 

However, within the past 15 days, Palaniswami seems to have been handling the issue tactically by passing the blame on the government and the administration and not holding Vijay accountable for the tragic death of 41 people. 

 

While the AIADMK hasn’t openly acknowledged an alliance with the TVK, the Dravidian major is trying to woo the crazy Vijay fans. Incidentally, Palaniswami had pointed out the TVK party flags flying during his rally and said “pillaiyar suzhi pottachu” (the starting letter has been initiated). 

 

While an AIADMK - TVK alliance is not on the cards, Vijay's stoic silence even after the Supreme Court handed over the case to the CBI and AIADMK’s demand for an “impartial probe” into the Karur stampede indicate the changing political equations in the state. While the AIADMK-BJP combine welcomed the Supreme Court’s interim order, the TVK chief is yet to come out and visit the families of the stampede victims. 

 

However, the million-dollar question here is whether Vijay will dump his ideological and individual identity and align with the NDA or if the AIADMK will walk out of the NDA to align with Vijay’s TVK. 

 

It remains to be seen if Vijay will wait for his turn to come to power or align with another political party to climb to power in 2026.

India