Karur Stampede: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and former Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur has urged Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin to ask the authorities to submit a report explaining the cause of the stampede that occurred during TVK chief Vijay’s rally. Thakur wrote to Stalin seeking details of the incident in which 41 people died and many others were left injured.
From crowd management to cause and actions done afterwards, the MP has sought details of everything related to the incident. He said that a delegation of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) visited the site where the Karur tragedy occurred and also met the families of the deceased.
Anurag Thakur’s 3-point demand from Stalin
The BJP MP said he was writing the letter with “deep concern and anguish with respect to the recent stampede tragedy that occurred in Karur”, and added that the tragedy has “raised serious questions in their (victim’s families) minds regarding the reasons and circumstances” that led to the incident.
He asked the Chief Minister to take complete charge of the situation, ask the concerned authorities to furnish a report at the earliest, covering three key aspects.
The first being the “primary reasons for the incident”. Thakur asked the CM to furnish in detail the primary factors and sequence of events that led to the occurrence of the stampede in Karur.
The other point is crowd management measures. He asked, “What arrangements and precautionary measures were taken by the administration and law enforcement agencies to regulate and manage the crowd prior and during the event?”
He also asked the Tamil Nadu CM to have officials mention, as per initial findings, “the lapses or unforeseen circumstances that contributed to the tragedy despite preventive actions.”
Thakur sought the plan that the state government has in mind to ensure no such incident is repeated, adding that the report should also be made public.
“A letter signed by all the Members of Parliament of the NDA delegation and shared with The Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu with a copy to the District Collector, Karur District, is enclosed for your kind reference. The letter seeks for detailed responses, department wise, so that the accountability and responsibility of the incident can be fixed and the questions of the public can be addressed,” he concluded.
What happened in Karur?
On Saturday, September 27, Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief and actor Vijay was to address a rally in Tamil Nadu’s Karur. A huge crowd gathered at the site. However, Vijay was late by seven hours which, the police said, is one of the reasons behind so many deaths as several people fainted due to exhaustion in the crowd.
A total of 41 people died during the public rally, leading to a political uproar in the state. Stalin blamed Vijay while the latter accused the TN government of conspiracy. A probe has been launched into the matter and a High Court is also scheduled to hear the case in detail.
Led-by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, a delegation of the ruling regime at the Centre reached Karur recently and met the families of the victims.