'Vijay is not in the mood to care for the people even now.'
'Everybody is traumatised but Vijay is not consoling them.'
A political storm has erupted in Tamil Nadu following the tragic stampede at a public event in Karur, which claimed 41 lives and left hundreds injured at a political rally called by actor-turned-politician Vijay, founder of the Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party.
In scathing criticism of actor-turned-politician Vijay, whose political outfit the TVK organised the ill-fated event, Congress MP from Karur S Jothimani, accused him of shirking responsibility and exploiting the tragedy for political mileage, calling his actions "irresponsible" and lacking empathy.
Despite being the face of the rally that ended in a disaster, Vijay was notably absent from the hospitals and rescue efforts in the immediate aftermath.
According to Jothimani, his delayed arrival and lack of logistical preparedness contributed to the chaos.
"Had he come to see the victims, no one would have blamed him," Jothimani tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff, highlighting how the actor's cinematic showmanship clashed tragically with the realities of crowd management.
Vijay blamed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin for the stampede deaths in Karur because there was not adequate police presence.
I do not wish to comment on Vijay's statement. I personally believe at this moment that be it Vijay or the administration of Tamil Nadu, they have to only support the people who have lost their loved ones right now. They are traumatised.
And unfortunately, the discussion is not on the people who died but on the full blown political fight now. This is not needed at this moment.
When Chief Minister Stalin came to Karur at midnight and when the media asked him strong questions, he said at that time that he does not want to politicise the issue. That was a mature response in my view.
But when you (Vijay) call someone for a meeting and your organisation cannot provide any water or food for 7-8 hours to the people, then it is the responsibility of your political party (for the deaths).
Do you mean to say that Vijay is not taking responsibility for the stampede deaths?
I can understand the fact that his political party is a new political party and he has no experience in conducting public rallies. (Vijay) coming late to the rally was a way to show (his political rivals) how people waited for him for seven hours just to catch his glimpse. This was a cinematic approach to real life.
But then 41 people died and hundreds of them were injured and Vijay did not go to see them right at that point of time. Nobody from his party or he himself was present in hospital at the time of crisis. It was me and my party workers who went to help the people in the hospital by providing medical support.
Vijay could have come the next morning but that too he did not do. Now, he is passing the buck.
Vijay said had he been at the spot there would have been more stampede due to his popularity and therefore he had to leave.
This place where the injured were admitted was Karur Medical College. He had every right to come there but he didn't turn up. We know Vijay didn't do any conspiracy in the stampede. It was an unfortunate incident. The sad tragic incident has happened.
Nobody would have blamed Vijay had he come to see the families of the deceased people in hospital and yet he did not turn up.
Is it true that Vijay asked for two other sites for holding the public meeting but was denied permission by the state government?
I am a local person from Karur. Had the two other places he asked for rally permission been given the death toll would have been in hundreds. This shows how the locals (party workers) of TVK are so immature.
One place was close to the river and the other place was close to a petrol pump. These two places were smaller in size and could not have held so many people.
People who called for this rally have to be held accountable. The only way out for his rally could have been a place on the outskirts of Karur but that they did not do that.
Can we say the TVK is a party in infancy and hence on a learning curve?
They are a new political party. I appreciate it that he attracted a lot of youngsters too in his party. But what is disappointing that Vijay should not have run away from the scene. This was bad on his part.
Is it true that 10,000 people were to attend the rally but 30,000 people turned up?
It was because Vijay turned up late for the meeting at Karur. He made people wait for 7-8 hours and the crowd started swelling.
There are textile units around Karur which shut after 6 pm and the workers from there too landed up for his rally to catch his glimpse. In this scenario, who will you blame for the delay?
And Vijay is not holding a single responsibility on himself for this tragedy.
Was there a prior warning given by local officials or the police to Vijay or his party members that overcrowding could be dangerous?
I am not aware of any discussion between the local administration and TVK members.
In my view, Karur is a small city and not like Mumbai or even Madurai. We have only one road which is used for traffic both ways.
The city is expanding very fast and therefore whenever we have a political rally which is small in numbers we hold it inside the city. But for any big rallies, we go out of the city to conduct it. This we have done for our leader Rahul Gandhi's rally too. We have always conducted his rallies outside the city limits as they are big in numbers.
They say the branch of a tree collapsed as there were people sitting on it, and that led to the stampede.
Many people climbed trees or transformers or rooftops for the TVK's rally. They are a young crowd who want to see their star. But when the branch fell with people on it, this caused chaos. The situation was so bad and chaotic that the police had to escort Vijay out. And what did Vijay do?
Now, Vijay is playing politics over dead bodies. There is a legal process that will decide the fate of the case.
Vijay is not in the mood to care for the people even now. If you see his statement it is only about a blame game. Everybody is traumatised and they have seen deaths but Vijay is not consoling them. He is not comforting the people.
Vijay says Stalin is arresting his supporters and organisers of the rally.
The law has to take its own course. Some 41 people have died and Vijay cannot expect that no action will be taken against anyone.
It is not that these 41 people jumped in a well and died by suicide. There is a rule of law in this country. A First Information Report will be filed by the police. A case will be filed, people will be arrested and it is now then that the courts can take a decision in this case.
How do you think this will impact Vijay's politics?
My feeling is that he is inexperienced in politics. This incident will come as a shock to him.
He was successful in cinema for 30 years but politics is a different ball game altogether.
I want him to introspect on his own decisions. He has to act on his conscience, and for him the people should come first rather than his own image.
Rahul Gandhi made a phone call to Vijay after the tragedy -- is there any political significance to this?
I have no idea since Rahul Gandhi is on a visit to South America for a political programme.
I am not aware of any direct call between Rahulji and Vijay. However, whenever such incidents have taken place Rahulji calls the people of that state and talks to leaders of different parties to take stock of the situation. So, I will only be able to answer this question in detail when Rahulji comes back from South America.