Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay launched a scathing attack on the erstwhile DMK government as he returned to Karur on Friday, almost nine months after a deadly stampede at his party’s first rally claimed the lives of 41 people in the district.

What did Vijay say about Karur stampede?

In his first visit to Karur since assuming the state’s top post, Vijay accused the DMK of trying to gain “political mileage” from the stampede tragedy, and attacked the former government for not allowing him to visit the town after the incident.

Dressed in all black, Vijay recounted the Karur stampede tragedy, and rejected accusations that he or his party were responsible for the incident, arguing that it was the responsibility of the police to manage the crowd.

“The police could have alerted us that the crowd was swelling and become unmanageable to control. The police have all the right to cancel the meeting. Without doing so, the police escorted us on the highway,” Vijay said while addressing a public meeting in Karur.

‘Trusted the police, was wrongly blamed’

The actor-politician said he trusted the police, but was wrongly blamed for the deaths. “I trusted the police fully and even thanked them at the meeting. I didn’t know about the drama. Who is responsible for this. Under whose instruction was all this done,” he asked.

CM Vijay said the Karur stampede has caused him immense anguish as he handed appointment letters to members of the victims’ families. “We have lost children of our sisters in the 2025 Karur stampede,” he said.

The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) founder also announced to establish a memorial on behalf of his party as tribute for the victims of the Karur stampede. “Karur will never leave my heart. A memorial will be built in memory of the victims,” Vijay said.

Vijay slams DMK over Karur stampede

Training guns on the DMK, Vijay alleged that the Dravidian party tried to gain “political mileage” out of the tragedy, and claimed that after the Karur stampede, the police had advised him against visiting the western town.

“You (DMK) accused me of hiding and uttered many things against me. I am not a politician who looks for political gains. I have come to politics to thank the people, to serve them. Did you think I will run away. If you ask me to chose between money and people, I will say people..people alone are important to me,” Vijay said.

The superstar said he quit his lucrative and popular acting career to serve the people full-time, and said the DMK’s defeat in the Tamil Nadu assembly polls wasn’t enough, urging his supporters to ensure a “lasting defeat” to the erstwhile ruling party.

Vijay also slammed the DMK for trying to to prevent him from visiting Karur. The Dravidian party had recently filed a plea in the Supreme Court, seeking directions to prevent the actor-politician from influencing witnesses in the stampede case during his Karur visit.

However, the DMK later withdrew its petition after the apex court chastised it for trying to turn the court into a “political forum”.

“As if you are still in power, you are saying I should not go to Karur. Are you still dreaming? Your party went home and TVK is in power,” Vijay said, referring to the DMK.

What happened in Karur stampede 2025?

On September 27, 2025, a deadly stampede occurred at Vijay’s first poll rally at Velusamypuram in Tamil Nadu’s Karur district, leaving 41 people dead, including several children, and more than 100 injured.

More than 30,000 people had gathered at the TVK rally, and waited for over six hours before the party’s chief and famous actor Vijay arrived at the venue. The actor-politician addressed the overcrowded rally as the crowd began to swell to catch a glimpse of the superstar.

However, tragedy unfolded when several people fainted due to overcrowding leading to a stampede as Vijay abruptly ended his address after witnessing the commotion. TVK workers raised an alarm and along with Vijay threw water bottles at the crowd from the actor’s campaign bus as the situation worsened.

Ambulances arrived at the scene and took away scores of people who fainted in the stampede to nearby hospitals. However, paramedics faced a hard time to reach the incident site due to heavily crowded streets. The case is being investigated by the CBI.