Karur (Tamil Nadu) [India], July 10 : Congress MP Jothimani said on Friday that Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay's visit to Karur and the subsequent handing over of appointment orders for government jobs to 31 kin of people killed in the tragic stampede has "nothing to do" with the by-elections
Karur Congress MP Jothimani said that CM Vijay is visiting with "deep emotion"
"The Chief Minister wanted the first event, non-political, to take place in Karur, and for the government's first official program to be held here. That is why this decision was made. Therefore, this visit and the assistance provided by the Tamil Nadu government to the victims have nothing to do with the by-election. The Chief Minister simply did what he felt was right... He is visiting Karur with deep emotion...So this is a very simple support. We don't need to politicise this," She told ANI.
CM C Joseph Vijay on Friday said the 2025 Karur stampede remains the deepest wound of his political journey, alleging that police failed to adequately manage the crowd and accusing the previous DMK government of attempting to shift the blame onto him for the tragedy that claimed 41 lives.
Addressing a massive gathering at Atlas Ground in Karur after distributing compassionate government job appointment orders to the families of the victims, Vijay became emotional while recalling the incident, saying no success in life could erase the pain caused by the loss of innocent lives.
"No matter how great a height a man reaches in life, certain pains and wounds in the heart cannot be forgotten. More than anything else, the pain and wound that affected me the most is the Karur incident," Vijay said.
Recounting the events leading up to the tragedy, the Chief Minister said his statewide "People's Meet" outreach programme was aimed at interacting directly with the public and understanding their concerns.
He alleged that while police had previously advised him to cancel a programme in Perambalur due to crowd concerns, no such warning was given before the Karur event despite the large turnout.
"After finishing the Namakkal meeting, when we were coming to Karur, couldn't the Karur police have alerted us? They could have cancelled the meeting if they felt the crowd could not be controlled. They had every right to do so. Instead, they brought us to the venue. I believed them completely and even thanked the police officers that day. I never imagined such a tragedy would happen," Vijay said.