'Who Will Take the Blame for the Lives Lost?': NDA-BJP Delegation Points Fingers, Demands Supreme Court Probe into Karur Stampede

Karur: An eight-member NDA-BJP delegation on Tuesday visited the site of the September 27 Karur stampede, which claimed 41 lives during a public rally of TVK chief and actor Vijay. The leaders, including BJP MPs Hema Malini, Anurag Thakur, Aparajita Sarangi, and others, met the injured, bereaved families, and eyewitnesses, while raising sharp questions over lapses in organisation, security, and administration.  

The delegation demanded that a sitting Supreme Court judge head the probe, calling for accountability from the Tamil Nadu government and ruling DMK.

“Who will take the blame for the lives lost? What were the organisers doing? What was the police doing? The ruling party must answer this,” Union Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters, adding that “there are many serious question marks” on the state government and local administration.

Hema Malini echoed concerns about poor planning and the choice of venue. “It was a bottleneck. You cannot expect 30,000 people to gather in such a narrow space. Security must be proportionate to crowd strength,” she said, stressing that such tragedies should never be repeated.

The delegation listed key questions:

1. Why was a larger venue not allotted for Vijay’s rally?
2. What led to the situation spiralling out of control?
3. What steps did the local police and administration take as the crowd swelled?
4. Why were injured persons not taken to nearby private hospitals immediately?
5. Was there an intelligence failure despite anticipating huge crowds?

Eyewitnesses told the MPs that within minutes of Vijay’s speech, people began fainting. An ambulance arrival caused further chaos, while water bottles were thrown from the dais as people cried out for help. “The road was just 19 ft wide, and the vehicle itself was 12 ft. There was no space for people to escape,” an eyewitness recounted.

The NDA team said they would submit their findings to BJP national president JP Nadda. “The truth must come out. A free and fair probe by a sitting Supreme Court judge is the only way forward,” Thakur insisted.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin has already announced a one-member commission headed by retired High Court judge Aruna Jagadeesan. Police have arrested local TVK functionaries, including district secretary Mathiyazhagan and town worker Paun Raj, in connection with the incident.

The death toll from the stampede has climbed to 41, including 18 women and 10 children.