Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) [India], July 8 (ANI): Tamil Nadu Minister P Nirmal Kumar on Tuesday launched a sharp attack against the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), alleging that the party is actively attempting to block Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s visits to Karur, following the stampede.
Speaking with ANI, the minister characterised the district of Karur as a site of “lifetime tragedy” for the ruling party and stated that the administration remains committed to visiting the region to engage with the local populace.
“You all could see why DMK is very much worried when we speak about Karur and whenever we say Karur why DMK is afraid and worried. CM Vijay has all rights to go out to every part of Tamil Nadu. Karur is our lifetime tragedy and all those people are part of our family. We have still not been able to come out of that tragedy,” he said.
Kumar questioned the DMK’s resistance, suggesting that the opposition’s persistent opposition to Chief Minister Vijay’s travel to Karur stems from a deep-seated fear. Dismissing the opposition, he affirmed that the CM, as the head of the state, holds the constitutional right to visit any part of Tamil Nadu.
“Whenever CM plans for a visit, DMK comes out and tries to stop. We wanted to know what is the reason and why DMK is very much worried and afraid whenever we plan for a Karur. They desperately wanted our leader not to step into Karur at any point. Our leader will go and meet the Karur people as per the plan,” he added.
His remarks come as the Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea filed by DMK Organising Secretary RS Bharathi alleging attempts by accused persons belonging to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) to influence witnesses in the Karur rally stampede case.
A bench of Justices KV Viswanathan and Alok Aradhe allowed Bharathi to withdraw the application and granted him liberty to pursue other remedies available in law.
“Heard Mr Ranjit Kumar for the applicant. He seeks to withdraw this application to pursue such other remedies as may be available. We dismiss the application as withdrawn on the above terms,” the Court said.
During the hearing, the Court questioned how it could entertain an application filed by a political rival seeking restrictions on public statements and other actions after it had already transferred the investigation into the stampede to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Senior Advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for Bharathi, argued that a narrative was being built by the accused persons after the investigation was transferred to the CBI. He said the applicant was not opposed to compensation being paid to the victims, but objected to the accused persons directly engaging in such acts.
“When the matter was transferred to the CBI… I am relying on the fact that there is a narrative being built by the accused persons. First of all, they are trying to compensate. We are not against that, but accused persons directly should not do it. They are making statements in the press,” Kumar submitted.
Notably, the Court also pointed out that the Chief Minister was not an accused in the case. (ANI)
Related reading
