Thirty-eight days after the Karur tragedy, which killed 41 people and injured several others, actor and Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay made his first public appearance at the party's special general council meeting, convened at a star hotel on the outskirts of Chennai, near Mahabalipuram, on Wednesday. The meeting, which was attended by senior leaders and party district functionaries, passed 12 resolutions touching upon various issues ranging from women's safety to seeking security for Vijay during his public meetings.
One of the key resolutions of the general council was to give authority to Vijay to make decisions regarding the alliance and that he will be the chief minister candidate in the upcoming 2026 election. Though Vijay and his TVK have been maintaining that he will be chief minister candidate, this resolution gains significance as the AIADMK chief Edappadi K. Palaniswami had recently hinted at an alliance between the TVK and the AIADMK.
The first resolution, which was on the Karur tragedy, was read out by the party's Karur district secretary Mathiazhagan, who has been named in the FIR over the stampede on September 27. Paying tribute to the victims of the incident, the resolution termed the crowd crush and the stampede a "conspiracy and an unimaginable tragedy", and termed the victims "martyrs". The first resolution, which is considered one of the key resolutions by the party men, also said that the people's support for Vijay had become an irritant for those in power. The resolution also said that the stampede had "cast doubts" on whether the large-scale security lapses and artificial commotions occurred because those in power had become frustrated due to Vijay's growing influence among the people.
Among others, TVK demanded halting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, citing "bulk removal of voters" in Bihar. The resolution said that it was improper to conduct SIR in haste when a case is pending before the Supreme Court.
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Another resolution demanded the safety of women, citing the Coimbatore gang-rape case and the Anna University sexual assault case. The party also criticised the BJP-led Union government for not taking action over the repeated arrests of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan navy and demanded that the Tamil Nadu government press for a solution to save the fishermen whose boats have been seized by the Sri Lankan navy and protect the fishermen's rights in the region.
The TVK also slammed the DMK government for the losses incurred by farmers during paddy procurement in the Delta region amid heavy rains. It said that the "government's inaction led to a loss of 20 lakh tons of paddy" and demanded compensation for the farmers.
The other resolutions concerned giving approval for a building in a Ramsar site, the incomplete stormwater drain project, and a demand for a white paper from the state government on FDI inflows, investments, and job creation, while indirectly referring to Foxconn's denial of the state's investment claims.
