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Journalism of Courage
Nearly 10 days after a stampede at his campaign rally in Tamil Nadu’s Karur left 41 people dead, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader and film star Vijay has reached out to the bereaved families through video calls.
The outreach began Monday evening, facilitated by a team from Chennai, headed by K G Arun Raj, the party’s general secretary for propaganda and policy, who joined TVK after resigning from his job in the Income Tax Department. According to party sources, at least eight families have so far been contacted, with all 27 affected families expected to receive calls. The families were asked not to record the conversations.
For many, the calls lasted only a few minutes. He promised the victims’ families that he would visit them soon.
The move comes after days of criticism that Vijay fled Karur the night of the tragedy, which took place on September 27, and did not meet the grieving families in person. While the Tamil Nadu government has announced a judicial inquiry and compensation, TVK has promised Rs 20 lakh to each victim’s family and Rs 2 lakh for the injured.
Vijay first addressed the incident in a social media post hours after the tragedy. “My heart is shattered; I am writhing in unbearable, indescribable pain and sorrow that words cannot express, ” he had said in the post.
The Madras High Court on Friday issued strong remarks about the incident, condemning what the judge called the party’s reckless conduct. “What action have you taken? You allowed this to happen, and now say only two have been arrested. Who is responsible? The leader, Vijay, disappeared – vanished – and there was no one left to help the people,” Justice N Senthilkumar had said. He also ordered the constitution of Special Investigation Team to probe the matter.
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