CHENNAI: Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) general secretary Vaiko on Tuesday described the death of 41 people, including several children, in a stampede at Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay's rally in Karur as an "unprecedented tragedy in Tamil Nadu's history" and held the event organisers responsible.
Addressing reporters in Chennai, Vaiko said the Karur meeting was "poorly planned" and that "lapses" in crowd control turned a celebratory gathering into disaster.
"The organisers failed to plan the rally properly, which led to the situation spiralling out of control, " he said.
According to him, Vijay's late arrival at both Namakkal and Karur on September 27 worsened the crush of people eager to see him.
"Mr Vijay had reached Namakkal very late and was several hours behind schedule even to enter Karur district, " he noted.
Vaiko also accused TVK functionaries of trying to deflect anger by blaming the state administration.
"The government acted swiftly. The Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues visited Karur within hours and extended all support. Yet some TVK members are levelling baseless allegations against the DMK government. Fearing that people's anger would turn against the organisers, they attempted to divert it towards the government. This is strongly condemnable, " he said.
Drawing a lesson from history, Vaiko recalled how former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) managed crowds during his DMK campaign days.
"MGR would rise from his vehicle before entering the venue, show the party symbol and wave to supporters along the road. Likewise, Mr. Vijay should have anticipated such a large gathering and acted accordingly, " the MDMK leader said.