Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu) [India], October 1 : Amid chaos over the unfortunate Karur stampede incident, Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration, Urban and Water Supply Minister KN Nehru on Wednesday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing them of politicising the matter.
"The people of Tamil Nadu will not accept such political gimmicks. They know the truth," Nehru said after paying floral tributes at the statue of veteran actor Sivaji Ganesan, near the Trichy Government Hospital, on the occasion of the late actor's birth anniversary.
Speaking to reporters, Nehru strongly criticised the BJP for sending an eight-member fact-finding team to Tamil Nadu in connection with the Karur tragedy. He stated that the fact-finding team was here to create unnecessary controversies and tarnish the state's image.
"We have been continuously pressing the Centre to provide adequate funds to Tamil Nadu for various issues. But the BJP remains silent on the state's demands. Yet, when an unfortunate incident like the one in Karur happens, they immediately rush in with a fact-finding team to create unnecessary controversies and tarnish Tamil Nadu's image," Nehru said.
"On the Karur issue, the Chief Minister and state officials have already given clear explanations. The Chief Minister himself has issued a transparent statement without blaming anyone. Despite this, the BJP is deliberately trying to politicise the matter," he added.
An eight-member delegation of the NDA-BJP on Tuesday visited the hospital in Karur where those injured in the September 27 stampede are currently undergoing treatment.
Before arriving at the hospital, the delegation, constituted by BJP national president JP Nadda, visited the site of the stampede to inspect the area and interact with eyewitnesses.
Members of the delegation include BJP MPs Hema Malini, Aparajita Sarangi, Anurag Thakur, Tejasvi Surya, Braj Lal, Rekha Sharma, Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), and Putta Mahesh Kumar (Telugu Desam Party). BJP MP Hema Malini is the convenor of the committee.
The BJP delegation, led by MP Hema Malini, visited the site of the incident. Congress's KC Venugopal also visited the families of the deceased, announcing that the party has given Rs 1.25 crore to the affected families.
Following the stampede in Tamil Nadu's Karur, which claimed the lives of atleast 41 people at a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) rally, actor and party's chief Vijay on Tuesday said that the "truth will come out soon" over the incident.
However, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) have maintained the actor's culpability for the loss of lives.
Two of TVK's functionaries, Mathiyazhagan, the party's Karur West District Secretary and MC Paun Raj, the Karur town functionary, have been arrested and sent to judicial custody till October 14.