SALEM: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Sunday visited the Karur Government Medical College and Hospital, where he paid homage to the 40 people who lost their lives in the stampede at TVK leader Vijay’s campaign rally the previous evening. He also met those undergoing treatment and consoled their families.
Speaking to reporters after his visit, Palaniswami expressed profound grief, calling it one of the worst tragedies in Indian political history. “I do not wish to blame anyone at this moment. This is a painful and shocking situation,” he said. Palaniswami, however, alleged serious lapses in security arrangements. “The crowd control measures were visibly inadequate. On television, it was clear that the police did not properly regulate the gathering,” he said.
He further accused the DMK government of providing large-scale police deployment for its own events while neglecting opposition rallies. However, the AIADMK chief also stressed that organisers must take responsibility. “When a leader holds meetings in several districts, he must review the arrangements and plan accordingly.
Delays in starting meetings also create avoidable risks,” he remarked. He urged the state and political leadership to learn lessons from the disaster and ensure that such a tragedy doesn’t recur. Meanwhile, Health Minister M Subramanian hit out at Palaniswami for attributing the lapses in security arrangements to the deaths.
In a statement on Sunday, Subramanian criticised Palaniswami’s contention that the police should have provided complete protection for the TVK meeting, based on the experience gained from TVK’s earlier public meetings. “Only after doing this exercise did the police impose additional restrictions and conditions. TVK men did not adhere to any of the restrictions.”
Stating that Palaniswami had created a wrong impression about ambulances by alleging that they were sent to disrupt his meetings, Subramanian said taking a cue from Palaniswami, TVK cadre attacked ambulances when they passed through the meeting area.