'Vijay Should Have Listened To Police': DMK's Kanimozhi On Karur Stampede

DMK leader Kanimozhi has called for patience as tensions rise between Tamil Nadu's ruling party and its rival in next year's election - actor Vijay's TVK - over the stampede Sunday evening in Karur district that killed 41 people. Kanimozhi told NDTV Tuesday afternoon 'we must wait for the panel report', referring to the one-person commission set up by Chief Minister MK Stalin.

She also played down the TVK's demand for an 'impartial' probe - to be conducted by a federal agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation - insisting the one-person panel will be impartial.

The Lok Sabha MP, however, also snuck in a few sharp jabs at Vijay and his TVK; the actor "should have listened to the police... the police advised the party to stop (Vijay's campaign bus) a few metres from the venue... we all must listen to the police", she said.

A crowd of nearly 30,000 - more than 25,000 police were told to expect, and planned for - had massed in Karur to listen to Vijay, a hugely popular actor who makes his electoral debut next year, speak. The event began at 9 am, the police said in a FIR filed Monday and seen by NDTV.

By 11 am a large crowd had gathered and people continued to arrive well past noon, when Vijay was supposed to speak but was nowhere in sight. The police claimed the bus carrying the actor from a rally in Namakkal - around 35 km away - was late, largely because of unscheduled stops.

The stops were a 'deliberate display of political power', the cops said and meant the already-large crowd was getting larger and more restless waiting for the actor to show up. And, according to the police, when he finally did, there was a rush to catch a glimpse of him.

That rush spiralled into the stampede that killed 41 people, including 18 women and 10 children, and left nearly 100 others injured. The crush, reports said, was so large emergency vehicles struggled to reach those in need and Vijay's bus was unable to leave the stampede.

The actor has been silent since then, although he has announced a Rs 20 lakh payout for each family and is meeting senior leaders to chalk out a response plan. His party, though, has been vocal, accusing the DMK of orchestrating a 'conspiracy' to defame it before the election.

Speaking to NDTV, Kanimozhi said Vijay 'should have stayed and helped the victims'.

On the TVK's CBI probe demand, she said, "Let the courts decide..."

The DMK leader stressed Chief Minister Stalin does not want a repeat of this incident in the continuing build-up to next year's election, which will be a high-voltage three-way scrap between his party, the BJP-AIADMK alliance, and Vijay's TVK, the season's surprise package.

"Everyone," Kanimozhi said, the reference to the TVK and its allegations clear, "should reflect on the incident and should ensure it does not happen again."