Vijay BJP’s tool to sway minority votes away from secular front, says Thiruma

CHENNAI: Announcing a solatium of Rs 50,000 each to the kin of the Karur stampede victims, VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan on Monday denounced the BJP and its ideological parent, the RSS, for politicising the tragedy for their electoral gain.

Expressing hope that actor Vijay would not align with the BJP, whom the TVK chief himself described as an "ideological opponent", the VCK leader said the saffron party was trying to use him as a political "tool" against the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance.

"Their real aim is to divide minority votes, pinning hopes on Vijay’s ability to sway Muslims and Christians," he said, adding that the actor-politician was surrounded by BJP-RSS elements who were not allowing him to think or act independently.

He criticised AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami for blaming the ruling DMK government and launching a misleading campaign over the incident.

Thiruma told reporters at Chennai airport that he and his party functionaries would visit Karur on October 11 to personally hand over the financial assistance to the bereaved families.

Coming down heavily on the BJP and RSS for attempting to exploit the stampede that took place during Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay's rally on September 27, which claimed 41 lives, Thiruma said the BJP-constituted fact-finding team's report had exposed its true intent. "Instead of consoling the families of the victims, their focus was on finding fault and shifting the blame onto the DMK government," he said.

Appreciating Chief Minister MK Stalin's handling of the tragic incident, he described it as "magnanimous and beyond party lines.” He said that people from various quarters have appreciated the CM for the way he managed the situation, while expressing strong disapproval of Palaniswami's attempts to use the tragedy for 'political mileage.'

He also criticised Palaniswami for blaming the State government after the police denied permission for his campaign, saying such an approach was unsuitable for a leader heading a party.