Vijay Throws Virtual Challenge to Stalin “Don’t Touch My Party Leaders, Supporters”
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 30: Actor-politician and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay in his first public appearance since 41 people died in a stampede at his rally in Karur on Saturday, sent out a strong message in a confrontational tone to the Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin asking him not to lay hands on his or friends and supporters in the wake of the Karur stampede.
Hinting darkly that his party suspected the Karur stampede to be a “conspiracy” by the ruling DMK ahead of the next year’s election, Vijay on Tuesday in a video message said, “Chief Minister sir… if you have revenge plans, do anything to me. Don’t touch my leaders. I will be at home or in office.” “We did nothing wrong except speaking at the designated spot. But police cases have been filed against our leaders, friends, and social media partners,” he said, shooting down talk the TVK failed to follow crowd safety measures. “My political journey will continue with renewed vigour.”
The DMK responded swiftly, pointing out the TVK boss’ response was four days coming and that he must accept responsibility for the deaths because he ‘broke the rules’. Party spokesperson A Saravanan said, “This is a script again. It took (four) days to release a video.” The party contrasted that with Stalin visiting Karur within a few hours.
DMK MP A Raja declared Vijay leaving the stampede like he did – the actor was escorted from the chaos in hopes his absence might help restore calm – “means someone has a guilty conscience.” A third DMK leader, Kanimozhi said Vijay “should have listened to the police… cops advised the party to stop (Vijay’s campaign bus) a few metres from the venue… (to ensure space for the crowd).”
Vijay’s dare followed the arrest of a party functionary Mathiyazhagan and cases filed against General Secretary N ‘Bussy’ Anand and Joint General Secretary Nirmal Sekar. And, according to a third case, filed by an as-yet unidentified police officer, Vijay has been charged with a ‘deliberate display of power’ – i.e., making unscheduled stops travelling from a rally at Namakkal, 35 km away, to intentionally delay his arrival and build hype and expectation – that led to the stampede.
However, in his message this evening Vijay declared neither he nor his party had done anything wrong and had followed protocol, including ensuring the rally was held at a safe location. “During the tour we wanted no compromise on people’s safety… we set aside all political issues and sought permission from the police for such (safe) places. But… what should not have happened, happened. I have never faced such a painful situation. My heart is full of pain.”
“The people who died came out of their love for me. I am indebted to them for this love,” the actor, whose entry into the Tamil Nadu political landscape, is expected to shake things up, said. “I am human too. How can I leave when so many were affected. I wanted to go back… but that could have led to more untoward incidents. So I avoided returning,” he said, responding directly to criticism by the DMK that he left the scene of the tragedy and did not, later, visit the families of those killed.
He also pointed out the TVK had held rallies in other districts. “Why in Karur?” he asked. The Karur Assembly seat was won by the DMK’s V Senthil Balaji, the former AIADMK leader and ex-Transport Minister now roiled in a corruption scam, in the 2021 election. The larger Lok Sabha seat has been held by the Congress’ S Jothimani since the 2019 election.
The TVK has emerged as a dark horse for next year’s election, on the back of Vijay’s popularity and fierce criticism of the DMK. Vijay has ruled out any talk of an alliance with MK Stalin’s party, which underlines the growing bitterness between the two camps playing out against the stampede backdrop.
“I never faced such a painful situation in my life before,” Vijay said in the 4-minute, 45-second recording, delivered in his composed, cinematic style, with long pauses. He thanked supporters for their “immense love and hope” and offered condolences to grieving families. But the core of the message was less elegiac than confrontational. “CM Sir, if you are desperate to find fault with us, do it with me. I will urge the police department to investigate safety failures. Such an unfortunate incident has happened, and the loss of lives has left me in deep pain.”
In one sweep, Vijay sought to recast the tragedy not as a failure of crowd control but as a political conspiracy. “I have gone to about five districts for campaigns, and why does this happen only in Karur? People know the truth. People are watching everything. When people of Karur themselves started revealing the truth, I felt like God himself had come out to speak the truth,” he said.
The speech was part grief, part accusation, and part challenge. Vijay said the rally was conducted at the government-allotted venue and insisted. The mood among his supporters was already inflamed. In Namakkal, hours before the Karur tragedy, several had collapsed from heat and exhaustion. At least four who attended his rally in Namakkal were in the hospital even on Monday. Many in Karur itself were left without food or water as they waited all day for his delayed arrival. But the social media within his camp had churned with speculation that the DMK had a hand in orchestrating the chaos. Vijay’s latest video statement gave those rumours fresh oxygen.
The provocation was compounded by Adhav Arjuna, TVK’s poll propaganda in charge, who was with Vijay in the campaign vehicle during the Karur stampede. He had posted on X about “Gen Z rebellion” in a way that suggested parallels to Nepal. The post drew sharp rebuke from the DMK, which demanded his expulsion. The former union minister and the DMK deputy general secretary A Raja accused him of making remarks “against India’s sovereignty and integrity,” and pointedly asked why Vijay had not removed him. Arjuna deleted the post after backlash but declined to comment further, saying he was grieving the loss of 41 lives in Karur.
Vijay firmly asserted that “all the truth will come out soon.” The
MK Stalin-led government released video clippings, which purportedly showed the violation of norms and TVK cadres climbing on the roof at Namakkal. The government also contested the claims on the choice of the venue for Vijay’s rally, saying that Karur Roundana had a petrol bunk and a drainage canal, which is why it was not suitable. The Stalin administration further said that the power supply was not suspended during Vijay’s rally as alleged.
Earlier in the day, a court remanded TVK functionary Paun Raj to judicial custody till October 14. He is said to have arranged the flagpoles and flex banners for Vijay’s campaign in Karur.
He reportedly also provided shelter to Mathiyazhagan after the stampede incident. In addition to the TVK members, police also arrested a YouTuber and journalist in connection with the incident.
Meanwhile, a delegation of MPs from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), probing the Karur stampede, inspected the site of the incident at Velusamypuram on Tuesday. They also visited the Karur government medical college and interacted with those injured in the stampede.
The 8-mmber NDA fact-finding team is led by MP and actor Hema Malini, and includes former Union Minister Anurag Thakur, MPs Tejasvi Surya, Brij Lal, Aparajita Sarangi, Rekha Sharma, Shrikant Shinde of the Shiv Sena, and Putta Mahesh Kumar of the Telugu Desam Party.
Speaking to reporters at the hospital, Ms Malini described the incident as “deeply saddening.” “The larger question is: who is responsible for this tragedy? Who organised it, and how did the administration give permission for such a gathering at this location?” she asked.
She noted that the venue could not hold even a small number of people, but permission had allegedly been granted for tens of thousands. “In the history of politics, such a tragedy has not happened before,” she said, adding that accountability must be fixed both on the organisers and the administration.
