'Cops Could Have Stopped Me': CM Vijay Blames Police And DMK For Tragedy In First Karur Visit After Stampede - VIDEO

Karur: In his first visit to Karur after the deadly stampede that took place in September last year, claiming 41 lives, Tamil Nadu CM Vijay on Friday shifted the blame to the police and political rivals, saying, "They (the police) had every right to cancel the meeting. But they did not cancel; they guided me in."

Dressed in black, Vijay said, "No matter how much success one enjoys... there are such incidents in life. When I entered Karur, they (the police) could have stopped me, no?" he asked the gathering. "They had every right to cancel the meeting. But they did not cancel; they guided me in..." he said.

"I trusted the police to control the crowd, yet I was blamed for the deaths," the TVK chief said.

Attack on DMK

Attacking the DMK, which was in power then, he said, "You mocked me... when I was feeling crushed and in pain at home, you said I was 'hiding'," he said, as quoted by NDTV.

He also claimed that his political rivals and the police had "conspired" to trigger the stampede.

"Did the police deploy enough people? They put the blame on me shamelessly, and MK Stalin did politics in the Assembly," he said, reiterating the TVK's claim that the tragedy was engineered to derail the party's ultimately successful election campaign.

Memorial to be build

Announcing a tribute to those killed in the stampede, Vijay said a memorial would be built on behalf of his party in Karur.

"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," he said.

For the unversed, the remarks are in reference to the DMK approaching the Supreme Court seeking directions to prevent Vijay from influencing witnesses in the stampede case during his Karur visit. The party later withdrew the plea after the bench rebuked it for attempting to turn the court into a "political forum". The case is currently being investigated by the CBI.

Speaking on the upcoming Karur Assembly by-election, Vijay urged voters to deliver "a strong rebuttal" to the DMK. Vijay also handed over appointment letters to members of the victims' families.