“Opinion |KarurTragedy: Vijay’s Sense Of Entitlement And Urgent Need For Stronger Crowd Safety Laws”, News 18, September 29, 2025
“The Karur stampede on 27 September at the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) rally addressed by the party founder and matinee idol Vijay has thus far claimed 40 lives most of them in the young age group, which is his main constituency and whose support he is banking on to dethrone the incumbent DMK government in next year’s Assembly elections.
One doesn’t know if the massive crowd build-up was orchestrated, which often is whispered about in undertones-appointing crowd-pulling agents and extracting commitments from them to bring, say, 1,000 spectators each to the venue of the political rally for an attractive quid pro quo for the agents to throw crumbs at the indigent wannabe spectators who are explained away as aficionados of the politician, often a star turned politician. In Tamil Nadu, more than other states, film stars enjoy a larger-than-life image in any case. So, it is possible that many of the curious onlookers at Vijay’s rallies might have been starry-eyed and fawning film-goers who hang on to the lips of their demigods.
Vijay arrived over six hours late scheduled for noon, he appeared just before 7 pm. His habitual lateness reflects a superstar’s entitlement, expecting others to wait. His failure to meet the injured or bereaved reveals arrogance and insensitivity-hardly traits of a people’s leader……”
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