With the Madras High Court clearing the way for the TVK-led government to issue compassionate appointments to the families of the Karur stampede victims, subject to judicial review and further hearings, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister S. Joseph Vijay on July 10, 2026, distributed government job appointment orders to 31 legal heirs at the Karur District Collector’s Office.
Before handing over the appointments, Vijay described the September 27, 2025, Karur stampede as a “painful” tragedy and blamed the erstwhile DMK government for the incident.
மாண்புமிகு தமிழ்நாடு முதலமைச்சர் திரு. ச. ஜோசப் விஜய் அவர்கள் இன்று (10.7.2026) கரூர் மாவட்ட ஆட்சியர் அலுவலகத்தில் நடைபெற்ற நிகழ்வில், கரூரில் 27.9.2025 அன்று நடைபெற்ற பொதுக்கூட்டத்தில் உயிரிழந்தவர்களின் 31 வாரிசுதாரர்களுக்குக் கருணை அடிப்படையில் பணிநியமன ஆணைகளை வழங்கினார்.… pic.twitter.com/R2PPFTGDlo
— CMOTamilNadu (@CMOTamilnadu) July 10, 2026
Nearly ten months after the tragic stampede in Karur that killed 41 persons during his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) public meeting, Vijay on July 10 made his first visit to the district. He trained his guns against the DMK for attempting to gain “political mileage” from the incident.
He said, “I trusted the police force fully and even thanked them at the meeting. I didn’t know about the drama. Who is responsible for this? Under whose instruction was all this done?” Accusing the DMK-led government without naming it, Vijay said, “They tried to gain political mileage” out of the tragedy, adding that the Karur stampede had caused him immense anguish.
Explaining further, he said, “You (DMK) accused me of hiding and uttered many things against me, while the police had advised me against visiting Karur immediately after the stampede occurred.” He said, “I am not a politician who looks for political gains. I have come into politics to thank the people and to serve them. Did you think I would run away? If you ask me to choose between money and people, I will say people alone are important to me.”
CM Vijay further said, “We have lost the children of our sisters in the 2025 Karur stampede.” He announced that a memorial would be built on behalf of his TVK party for the victims of the Karur stampede, describing it as “the most painful time of my life”, and alleged that the Tamil Nadu Police had “staged drama” during the incident. “It will help future generations know about the conspiracy behind the tragic incident.”
#WATCH | Tamil Nadu CM C Joseph Vijay takes the stage at the Atlas Ground in Karur.
He will distribute compassionate appointment orders to Karur tragedy victims' families and attend a separate TVK party event here.
(Video: TVK) pic.twitter.com/DJ7hc4WkgL
— ANI (@ANI) July 10, 2026
Vijay hit out at DMK leaders without naming them, referring to V. Senthil Balaji and E.V. Velu, resorting to his oft-repeated “DMK, an evil force” remark and appealing to the people to teach the party a fitting lesson in the coming local body polls.
CM Vijay strongly declared that if anyone, whosoever it may be, asked for a bribe, people should firmly refuse it, assuring them that they had the full support of the Chief Minister of the state.
In his speech today at a public meeting in Karur, Chief Minister Vijay strongly declared that if anyone, whosoever it may be, asks for a bribe, people should firmly refuse it, assuring them that they have the full support of the Chief Minister of the state on their side.
I see…
— Muthukrishnan Dhandapani (@dmuthuk) July 10, 2026
He claimed that during the two months since his TVK took over, there had been “no corruption” in government offices; not even a single paisa was being taken as graft, and people were being given the respect they deserved. “People should boldly say they will not give a bribe. Use my name if someone demands such illegal gratification.”
Vijay said, “In every department, they (DMK government) had looted people’s money in the name of ‘party fund’. When I mentioned this in the Assembly, they ‘ran away’. Those who said corruption cannot be eradicated should go and see government offices now; not a paisa is being taken as a bribe. People heave a sigh of relief and we (TVK government) are so happy.”
He went on to add: “What we have seen is only a sample; you will see our viswaroopam in the coming days. They ask me to open my mouth, but when I started speaking, they ran away.”
The TVK leader said, “Perambur police alerted us that the crowd was getting bigger. But the Karur police did not give us any such pre-alert. They themselves brought us to the venue, and I believed them.”
Earlier, he met and consoled the families of those who lost their lives in the stampede. The organisers of the meeting restricted the crowd by issuing QR code entry to only 5,000 people. Even the media were denied entry but were accommodated in a separate enclosure next to the venue with a TV monitor to watch.
On the morning of July 10, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court refused to grant a stay on the Tamil Nadu government’s move to provide government jobs, following a plea challenging the decision, saying “it would be on a temporary basis subject to judicial review”.
DMK deputy general secretary and MP Kanimozhi, while speaking to journalists at Thoothukudi on Friday (July 10), said: “The Karur stampede case is under probe. People know who helped them at the time of distress; sensitivity and responsibility are important,” while reacting to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and TVK president Vijay’s speech at Karur earlier in the day.
Both the Left, the BJP and other opposition parties have strongly opposed the government jobs for the victims of his political rally, saying he should have offered jobs in private companies or adopted other alternatives, including self-income-generating means.
