‘Was there enough police?’ Vijay slams 'political mileage' in first Karur visit as Tamil Nadu CM after stampede

TAmil Nadu chief government minister C chief joseph Vijay on fri visited Karur for the number one clip since assuming office in May, revisiting memories of the September 2025 stampede that claimed 41 lives and left several others injured.Speaking about the incident, Vijay said the administration had received crowd-related warnings in neighbouring districts but not in Karur.“The Perambalur Police alerted us that the crowd was getting too large. But the Karur Police didn't give us any such alert. They themselves brought us to the venue, and I believed them.”Questioning the arrangements made for the event, Vijay sought accountability for the tragedy and raised concerns over the police deployment at the venue. “Who is responsible for all this? Who gave the orders? People, I ask you, was adequate police protection provided for such a huge crowd?” news agency ANI quoted him as saying.The TVK leader said the stampede had taken the lives of several children who had gathered to see him, adding that the loss made the tragedy particularly painful on a personal level.Referring to the victims, he said, "We have lost children of our sisters in 2025 Karur stampede," reported news agency PTI.Targets DMK, AIADMKDuring his address, Vijay also trained his guns on the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, alleging corruption and misuse of money collected in the name of party funds.Vijay further raised questions over the security arrangements made during the 2025 rally and accused political opponents of attempting to derive political benefits from the tragedy.Without naming specific individuals, he criticised what he described as efforts to create "drama" around the incident and seek "political mileage" from the deaths of the victims.TVK to build memorial for stampede victimsAnnouncing a memorial for those who died in the stampede, Vijay said the structure would be built by the TVK in Karur as a lasting tribute to the victims. He said the memorial would serve as a reminder of the tragedy for future generations and help ensure that similar incidents are not forgotten."In order to make the coming generation aware of the conspiracy and plot against us, so that no one even thinks of another political conspiracy, we announce that a memorial will be built in Karur on behalf of our TVK," he said.Vijay said the memorial would also preserve what he described as the circumstances surrounding the incident and prevent the tragedy from being exploited for political purposes.