Vijay speaks at the TVK’s special general council meeting in Mamallapuram on Wednesday
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay on Wednesday (November 5, 2025) took strong exception to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s remarks in the Assembly on October 15 regarding the Karur stampede at his rally in which 41 persons died. He alleged Mr. Stalin’s speech was filled with political hostility.
Addressing the party’s special general council meeting at a private resort in Mamallapuram, Mr. Vijay also reiterated that the 2026 Assembly elections would be a contest only between the TVK and the DMK. The party’s general council also passed a resolution that it would contest the elections under Mr. Vijay’s leadership and authorised him to take decisions regarding alliances amid speculations about a possible alliance with the AIADMK-BJP combine.
The TVK leader said he and his party had been in deep grief over the stampede deaths. “That is why I have maintained silence all these days,” he claimed. “But during this time, several malicious political campaigns and baseless rumours have been spread about us. All these will be wiped out with the help of truth and justice,” he said.
He accused the Chief Minister of making false allegations while claiming not to politicise the tragedy. “His speech in the Assembly was filled with bitterness and political animosity,” he said.
Mr. Vijay said the party had organised public meetings not only in Karur but also in other districts, and that permission for these events was often delayed until the last moment. Whenever the party proposed venues where people could gather comfortably, the requests were rejected, and cramped locations were allotted instead, he alleged.
According to him, no political leader in India had faced such excessive restrictions. He questioned Mr. Stalin whether he had forgotten that the Supreme Court had asked several questions to the lawyers representing the DMK government, leaving them unable to defend their position, regarding the Karur stampede.
“After the Karur incident, the State government hurriedly announced a one-member commission of inquiry. Soon after, senior officials and police officers held a press conference spreading misinformation about us. People across Tamil Nadu wondered why such media briefings were held,” he said.
Mr. Vijay accused Mr. Stalin of playing a game solely for political gains. “This is nothing new for him and his party. Since 1972, when no one was left to question the DMK leadership, this has been their approach. The people’s faith in this government has been buried. If the Chief Minister still fails to see this, the people will make him and the DMK leadership realise it deeply in the 2026 elections,” he said.
This was Mr. Vijay’s first political address nearly 38 days after the Karur tragedy. In a closed-door event on October 27, he had met several family members of the victims at the same venue.
The party also passed 12 resolutions at the meeting, including condemning the State government for the rise in crimes against women and the deteriorating law and order situation, condoling the deaths in Karur, and criticising the BJP-led Union government and the ruling DMK for failing to prevent the repeated arrests of fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry by Sri Lankan authorities.
The council also opposed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll, condemned the State government for the reported delays in procuring Kuruvai paddy in the Cauvery delta, urged protection of the Pallikaranai marshland, and demanded a white paper on investments and employment generation since the DMK assumed power in 2021.
The council observed two minutes of silence in memory of those who died in Karur.
Published – November 05, 2025 03:19 pm IST
