The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam party chief, who has been facing flak from certain sections for not visiting the affected families in person, had made the video calls on October 6 evening, one of the affected families said.
The Madras High Court has rejected a plea for a CBI investigation into the Karur stampede that occurred during a rally by actor-politician Vijay, resulting in 41 deaths. The court also dismissed an anticipatory bail petition related to an attack on a hospital during the same rally.
The Madurai Bench of the high court will on Friday hear the case related to the Karur stampede incident, which claimed the lives of at least 41 people and over 100 were injured.
Vijay, despite the loud message from his delayed arrival at the road-show/stampede venue, and more so his continued inaccessibility for fans-turned-cadres after graduating from a super-star to a political party leader with electoral ambitions, refuses to change. Or, so it seems, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The proposed meeting triggered a debate on social media with some users flaying the actor for arranging travel and accommodation for the meeting of the affected families whereas he could have visited Karur and consoled them.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi contacted Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and TVK party president Vijay following the Karur stampede, expressing concern and offering condolences. The incident resulted in multiple fatalities and injuries, prompting investigations and compensation announcements.
Expressing his condolences to the bereaved families in a social media post on Sunday, he said a sum of Rs 20 lakh would be given to the families of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh to those who sustained injuries.
The Tamil Nadu government released video clippings showing violations of norms at actor-politician Vijay's rally in Karur, claiming the crowd size more than doubled, causing hardships and leading to a stampede.
The Supreme Court has questioned the Madras High Court's decision to form a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the Karur stampede, which resulted in 41 deaths. The court raised concerns about the High Court's handling of the matter, particularly regarding the formation of the SIT and adverse remarks made against actor Vijay's political party.
'Stalin's intention is plain and simple.' 'The DMK wants to convert what is an 'incumbency-centred' election for the party-led alliance into one more 'Modi/BJP election' after Stalin's successive success in 2019 and 2021, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The TVK has sought an independent investigation under the supervision of the Supreme Court, contending that a fair and impartial probe would not be possible if conducted solely by officers of the Tamil Nadu Police.
The Supreme Court has directed states to consider deploying additional staff to ease the workload on booth level officers (BLOs) engaged in the special revision of electoral rolls, following concerns about extreme work pressure and related issues.
The CBI has taken over the investigation into the Karur stampede, which resulted in the deaths of 41 people during a political rally. The Supreme Court ordered the independent probe following concerns about impartiality.
'The TVK Twitter account said Vijay will come at 12 and crowd started coming in from 11 AM. He came at 7.40 PM. The people lacked sufficient food water under the hot sun'
'Karur could still impact Jana Nayagan's box-office success if Vijay and the TVK do not get their act together,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
A social media post by a TVK leader has sparked controversy, leading to demands for his expulsion from the party.
The actor said preparatory work to hold TVK's first state conference, which will declare the party's ideology, has commenced and, "please wait for a formal announcement about it."
On the admissions, he said 26 people were treated in the OPD and were discharged. And of the 67 admitted as in-patients, 2 were critical. All others were stable. One of the patients was shifted to the Madurai GH for further treatment.
Chennai Police received a phone call claiming that a bomb had been planted at the ECR, Neelankarai residence of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) Chief and actor C Joseph Vijay, officials said.
He ruled out an electoral alliance with any party and said next year's Assembly poll will be a straight contest between his TVK and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
The Supreme Court has ordered a CBI probe into the Karur stampede, prompting varied reactions from political parties. DMK claims misrepresentation in the petition, while AIADMK sees the decision as a setback for DMK. Other parties express their views on the investigation and its implications.
'Vijay is not in the mood to care for the people even now.' 'Everybody is traumatised but Vijay is not consoling them.'
The Karur tragedy has exposed the huge gaps in Vijay's understanding of realpolitik, elections and political administration, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
A case has been registered against the driver of actor-politician Vijay's campaign vehicle in connection with an accident it was allegedly involved in on its way to September 27 Karur rally where a stampede claimed lives of 41 people, police said.
Vijay said the truth about the fatal incident will come out soon, and hinted he was ready to face action.
Actor Vijay's party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), has temporarily postponed his planned rallies following a stampede in Karur that resulted in 41 deaths.
Referring to the fatal incident that has so far claimed 41 lives, head of the panel and Bharatiya Janata Party MP, Hema Malini said that political rallies should be properly organised and conducted with full security.
Vijay, with his chief ministerial ambitions, is a one-man army, at least as of now, and his campaign team considers him omnipresent. He has to be present in all districts, if not all constituencies at the same time, as there is no second-line leader or platform speaker in the party, who can draw crowds, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The two weeks that EPS took fending off the Sengottaiyan rebellion has since become lost time for the AIADMK as that was also the time Vijay took to go all-out against Stalin and the DMK, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'What is worrying other parties is those 10-11 year olds who come for his meetings will cross 18 in the next election. And they will vote for him, and then his vote bank will double.' 'In that case, he will be a very serious player! This is the real scare for other political parties.'
A senior citizen in his 70s said he has never seen so many people getting killed in a stampede at a political party's event and blamed the youths for their anxiety to somehow take a look at the actor.
The Deepa Thoon controversy, if not allowed to die a natural death, could take the election focus away from the anti-incumbency impacting the DMK and into the secular space. Stalin would love to have it that way, all over again, after the three past elections, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'He knows people in a small town like Karur would give anything for a glimpse of the superstar.'
'The biggest mistake was that he fled Karur after the stampede.'
In his maiden public speech eight months after announcing the launch of TVK, Vijay said the late veterans MG Ramachandran and NT Ramarao were ridiculed as mere cinema actors when they made their political plunge "but they continue to remain in the hearts of the people" of the respective states, i.e Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
'Vijay is badly politically wounded.'
The Deputy CM said over 345 doctors and nurses from neighbouring districts have been deployed to treat the injured.
Amit Shah seemingly encouraging AIADMK dissident Sengottaiyan after party boss Edappadi K Palaniswami had removed his one-time mentor from all party posts has not gone down well with party cadres. They are now ready to buy Team EPS' theory that the BJP and Amit Shah are out to liquidate the AIADMK, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Thirty-six people, including eight children, 16 women died in a stampede at the actor-politician Vijay's rally in Karur on Saturday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said.
The BJP's MoSha leadership are past masters in encouraging defections from their allies if it helped their party capture the chief minister's chair. In Bihar, they are not sure if JD-U MPs and MLAs would be willing to cross over to the BJP if the Nitish leadership came on top -- and the NDA crossed the halfway mark together, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances