Chennai, July 10:
Senior DMK leader T K S Elangovan on Friday (July 10) launched a scathing attack on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, accusing him of spreading false propaganda in Karur and treating the public like “fools”.
CM Vijay visited Karur for the first time on Friday (July 10) after the tragic stampede incident that claimed 41 lives while he was campaigning there on September 27, 2025.
Addressing a press conference, Elangovan blamed Vijay’s delayed arrival for the tragic situation where several people fainted due to extreme heat, lack of food, and water.
Elangovan stated that Vijay was scheduled to speak at noon but failed to arrive until 7.30 pm, forcing people to wait for hours under the scorching sun. He dismissed Vijay’s explanation of being held up by crowds along the way as a “big lie”.
“Any person with basic knowledge understands that if people are left without food and water in intense heat, they will faint. Out of the 100 people admitted to the Karur hospital, the then DMK government mobilised doctors from other medical facilities and successfully saved 60 lives. Unfortunately, 41 people could not be saved as their bodies could not withstand the extreme heat and exhaustion. This was a natural consequence of the situation,” Elangovan said.