KARUR: Responding to TVK president Vijay's video message addressing the stampede that occured during his rally in Karur, Former DMK MLA and Karur DMK strongman Senthil Balaji on Wednesday remarked that compliance with conditions outlined by the police and timely arrival could have averted the tragic incident in which 41 people died.
Balaji was speaking to the reporters in Karur, explaining the sequence of events using video footage aired on mainstream media. He also addressed questions regarding why such a tragedy had occured only in Karur and not in any of Vijay's previous campaigns in five other districts.
Regarding criticism of Velusamipuram, the venue chosen for the rally, Balaji said that it was the only available place which could accomodate the anticipated crowd. He said, "The first locations requested were Lighthouse Corner and the Uzhavar Sandhai."
He further said, "Generally, when a political party conducts a public meeting, the venue must match the anticipated crowd. For instance, when the DMK hosted the ‘Mupperum Vizha,’ (on Sep 17) we arranged private land to accommodate two lakh cadres and provided drinking water and snacks. At the Karur site, thousands of slippers were found, but not even a single bottle of water was provided to anyone."
Regarding Vijay's arrival at the venue, Balaji noted, "Initially, they said the meeting would be at 12 noon, which was then postponed to 3 pm, but Vijay arrived only at 7 pm. By 4 pm, only about 5,000 people were present. Had the meeting been held on schedule, this tragedy could have been avoided."
Balaji also addressed questions about how he reached the hospital so quickly. "At that time, I was holding a meeting at the Karur district DMK office. As soon as I learned of the incident, I rushed to Amaravathi Hospital. Members of all parties were at the hospitals. After hearing about the tragedy, some questioned whether anyone could have run to Chennai instead. The TVK gathering in Karur was not an uncontrollable crowd but an unruly one. Collective action is needed to prevent similar incidents in Tamil Nadu in the future."
He compared the TVK gathering to an AIADMK meeting held two days earlier at the same venue, which had 15,000 attendees. The TVK meeting attracted an additional 10,000 people.
"The venue can accommodate up to 25,000, but discipline is essential. Normally, second-tier and district administrators go ahead of the leader’s vehicle to organise the crowd. That system was absent at the TVK gathering," he said.
Balaji said that aid was provided after the incident from the DMK's foundation and treatment charges for those admitted to private hospitals were also taken care of.
He added, "This was not political. We acted according to our party leader’s orders. No political leader would accept the loss of life. We went to help. Those criticising us should have done what we did. Political animosity has led some party members to spread false accusations on social media."
Responding to the allegation that someone had turned off the generator, Balaji observed that since all television channels broadcast the events live, a power outage would have been recorded if it had occured. He said that people trying to escape the crowd broke the generator room doors and the operator temporarily turned off the generator. He noted that only the event lights and the loudspeakers stopped working, while power in other areas remained unaffected.
Balaji claimed that many people in the crowd fainted, and to draw Vijay's attention, someone threw a slipper to draw Vijay's attention just as he began speaking. Only after that did Vijay throw water bottles toward the crowd, he said. About 500 meters before the venue, all sections of his campaign van were closed, and the lights were turned off, causing attendees to follow the vehicle. Even after the police cautioned about the large crowd, the vehicle was driven to the designated location, Balaji said.
During the rally, Vijay spoke about Balaji for three minutes, and then about election promises, including the Karur airport. Around 6-7 minutes into Vijay's speech, slippers were thrown as people had begun fainting and ambulances ferried the injured to the hospitals.
Balaji said that seven ambulances had been arranged, including two from Namakkal.
Balaji also criticised the BJP MPs’ visit, questioning why they had not gone to Manipur or the Kumbh Mela after fatalities and suggested that they investigate social media misinformation.
