
- BJP leader Khusbu Sundar called the stampede at Vijay's rally last month a "planned" and "created" incident
- She also slammed MK Stalin for being on a "mute mode"
- 41 people died and at least 60 were injured in the stampede during Vijay's rally on September 27
Days after the stampede at actor-turned-politician Vijay's rally in Tamil Nadu's Karur that killed 41 people, BJP leader Khusbu Sundar called it a "planned" and "created" incident. She also slammed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for "not providing" a proper space to Vijay to hold his rally.
"The entire people of Tamil Nadu believe that there was complete negligence. It seems like it was a created calamity because DMK knew the kind of crowd Vijay was going to garner - despite this, they did not give him a proper space to conduct the rally. MK Stalin is in a mute mode now and not answering questions. 41 people died. He should speak now; someone needs to unmute him," Sundar said.
41 people died and at least 60 were injured in the stampede during Vijay's rally on September 27 in Karur. According to eyewitnesses, a power outage, a sudden surge of the crowd, and a narrow space contributed to the deadly incident. The actor-turned-politician, who was supposed to arrive at the venue at 12 pm, turned up around 7 pm.
The crowd had swelled till Vijay arrived, and he brought another crowd surge with his campaign bus, an eyewitness said. During this time, many people climbed trees, roofs, and power lines, due to which authorities had to cut electrical lines to avoid cases of electrocution. When Vijay arrived, people started pushing each other and threw slippers at the campaign bus to get Vijay's attention, he said, adding that during this time, many people fainted.
The police then resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the crowd, officials said.
Sundar, however, questioned the police's action. "Why did the police use a lathi charge? A lot of videos have emerged now. It must be a planned and created incident," she said.
Some Opposition leaders have called Vijay the BJP's "B-team". Responding to this, senior BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan said, "I don't know about 'A-team' or 'B-team'. There can be an 'A to Z team'. I cannot say anything. BJP is happy. We are 'P-team' that is people's team."
Sources, on Saturday, have said that the BJP reached out to Vijay's party days after the stampede - hinting that the saffron party is working to utilise the actor's massive fan base to improve its chances in the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly elections. A senior BJP leader communicated to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leadership that Vijay will not be alone if he is unfairly targeted by the DMK, they said.
The party also informed the TVK that it wants to corner the DMK and advised Vijay to be patient, sources said.
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