Days after a stampede during the rally of party chief and actor Vijay turned tragic and killed 41 people, including women and children in Karur, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) on Wednesday announced that similar events planned over the next two weeks are being "temporarily postponed."
As part of his party's statewide campaign launched on September 13 ahead of the Assembly elections, Vijay had planned multiple rallies, calling it a "meet the people" initiative. Vijay has so far toured Tiruchirappalli, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Namakkal and Karur as part of the campaign, a first since the launch of his party in February last year.
A stampede during Vijay's public event at Karur on September 27 killed 41 people and left several injured. Overcrowding and lack of basic facilities like food and water, despite the long delay in Vijay's arrival at the venue, were allegedly some of the reasons that led to the stampede.
In a social media update, the party's official handle pointed to the Karur tragedy and said "we are in anguish and regret over the loss of 41 of our brethren."
"In this situation, our leader's (Vijay) next two weeks' meet the people programmes are being temporarily postponed. The revised details of these would be announced later," it said.
In a video message on Tuesday Vijay had expressed grief over the tragic incident.
In the 4-minute-45-second-long video posted on X, Vijay said he had never faced such a painful situation in his life.
“My heart is filled with pain and only pain,” he said.
He also acknowledged that people turn up in huge numbers during his rallies, which he believed was out of love and affection for him. He stated that he would be forever indebted to the love people shower on him.
However, he asserted that neither he nor his party had done anything wrong apart from delivering a speech at a venue for which police had granted permission. He also stressed that TVK’s political journey would continue with greater strength and courage.