On his first visit to Karur after the 2025 stampede that killed 41 persons, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Friday said the tragedy had caused him "immense anguish", blamed the police for failing to alert his party about the situation, and alleged attempts to derive political mileage from the incident.
Addressing a public meeting in Karur, Vijay said the deaths in the stampede had deeply pained him. "We have lost the children of our sisters," he said, referring to those killed in the incident.
The Chief Minister questioned whether adequate police protection had been provided for the 2025 rally and claimed that had the police informed his party in time about the developing situation, steps could have been taken to prevent the tragedy.
"The police could have alerted us that the crowd was swelling and become unmanageable to control. The police have all the right to cancel the meeting. Without doing so, the police escorted us on the highway," Vijay said during his first visit here after taking up the reins as chief minister in May.
Vijay said "I trusted the police fully and even thanked them at the meeting. I didn't know about the drama. Who is responsible for this. Under whose instruction was all this done," he asked.
The CM also announced to establish a memorial on behalf of his party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) for the victims of the Karur stampede.
Vijay also launched a sharp attack on the DMK and the AIADMK, alleging that the two parties were in "collusion".
He described the DMK as an "evil force" and the AIADMK as a "spent force", while accusing the DMK of running a corrupt regime and collecting money in the name of "party fund". Without naming them, he also targeted senior DMK leaders V Senthilbalaji and EV Velu.
Claiming that his government had ensured clean administration, Vijay said there was "no corruption in government offices" and "not even a single paisa" was being accepted as bribes. He urged people to refuse to pay bribes and asserted that his party had uprooted the culture of cash-for-votes.
The Chief Minister also announced that the government's proposed gold ring scheme for newborns would be launched on the birth anniversary of Dravidian icon CN Annadurai.
On inter-state water issues, Vijay slammed the DMK over the Mekedatu dam project and questioned when the party's petition against the project had been rejected by the Supreme Court.
He also reiterated his opposition to the proposed delimitation exercise, saying Tamil Nadu would not accept any exercise that harmed the state's interests.
Appealing to voters ahead of the local body elections, Vijay urged people to teach the DMK a "fitting lesson", saying the party was an "evil force". He also reiterated his claim that the DMK and the AIADMK were in collusion.
Vijay also dismissed the Opposition's allegations of horse-trading against his government, asserting that "the people are on our side."
(With inputs from PTI)