TN stampede shows evidence of 'security lapse' at TVK meeting, claims AIADMK gen secy

TN stampede shows evidence of 'security lapse' at TVK meeting, claims AIADMK gen secy

Karur , Former Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Sunday claimed that the stampede at the TVK's political rally here on September 27, showed evidence of security lapse on the part of the police and administration.

TN stampede shows evidence of 'security lapse' at TVK meeting, claims AIADMK gen secy

Such a "shocking tragedy" which claimed 39 innocent lives besides hospitalising 51 people could have been averted had the police and state government taken sufficient precautionary measures, he said.

"There is evidence of a security lapse at Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam meeting, based on media reports. There was confusion and stampede due to power disruption. TVK should have taken precautionary measures focussing on safety and security of its party workers as it had held four meetings so far," Palaniswami told reporters here.

The police should have reviewed and strengthened the security arrangements based on the crowd that attended the TVK meetings in the past and depending on the prevailing situation at Karur meeting. Even the government and TVK leadership should have bestowed thought on the security arrangements, he said.

To a question he replied that it was the duty of Chief Minister M K Stalin to announce relief to the victims and also visit them at the GH. The government and police should have handled the situation efficiently and averted the tragedy, he stressed.

"No where the police have been involved in efforts to defuse the stampede and in providing security. This government is partial," the former Chief Minister alleged and added that the opposition parties had to approach the courts for permission to organise meetings.

The state government should devote attention to safety of the people, he said and recalled the tragedy at the Marina air show and said so many lives would not have been lost had the government taken appropriate precautionary measures in the past too.

Vijay's remark at the rally as to why the ambulances were carrying his party's flags raised doubts, he said.

Palaniswami declined to accept the police version of the incident that the gathering exceeded the anticipated numbers and hence became unmanageable to control, and shot back "does not the police know how many attended the earlier four meetings of Vijay and did not the TVK party inform them of the numbers? Should not the police take appropriate precautionary measures?"

It was better not to politicise this incident in view of the magnitude of the tragedy, he emphasised and advised that steps should be taken to ensure such shocking incidents don't occur in the future.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.