CHENNAI: TVK on Tuesday claimed that there were several lapses in the Karur stampede case and said its founder leader Vijay has sought the CBI to defer questioning him further to next week due to his prior commitments, which include work to get screened his last film Jana Nayagan and in view of the harvest festival "Pongal."
TVK general secretary C T R Nirmal Kumar, who returned to Chennai after being questioned by the CBI at its headquarters in the national capital on the tragic Karur stampede that claimed 41 lives, said the premier investigative agency will question Vijay again.
"He (Vijay) appeared before the CBI as a witness in the Karur stampede case on January 12. He requested that the enquiry be held after Pongal in view of the festival and also his film release. He would be informed about the next date for the enquiry," Nirmal Kumar told reporters here.
The TVK chief had arrived from New Delhi this afternoon after being interrogated for nearly six hours at the CBI headquarters over the September 27 incident that occurred during the TVK rally addressed by Vijay last year.
"As we have been saying, there are several lapses in the case. While the Chief Minister M K Stalin claimed 607 policemen were present on duty during the Karur incident, Additional DGP (Law and Order) Davidson Devasirvatham said that there were 500 policemen at that time. When there is a discrepancy in the number, imagine the real situation," Kumar said.
On the legal battle over censor board certification for Jana Nayagan, he said that the issue would be resolved soon and that the film would hit the screens at the earliest.
To a question on Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam's electoral ties ahead of the 2026 Assembly election, Nirmal Kumar said Vijay would take a call on the alliance.