The wife of one of the victims of the stampede at the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) rally in Karur on September 27 has returned the ₹20 lakh solatium electronically transferred to her by Vijay. She objected to the actor-politician meeting the families of the deceased by calling them to Mamallapuram instead of visiting them in Karur as promised.
M Sangavi, whose husband Ramesh was among the 41 victims, said she was upset that Vijay failed to keep his word about meeting the families in Karur.
She also accused TVK office-bearers of "cheating" her family by taking estranged relatives to meet Vijay after Sangavi and her mother-in-law refused to be part of the entourage.
Of the 38 bereaved families, a few refused to travel to Mamallapuram to meet Vijay, insisting the actor should come to their homes to extend his condolences.
"He (spoke) to us via video call two weeks back and informed us that he will come here to meet us and extend his condolences. However, when we were asked to come to Chennai, we refused. But the TVK people have taken my estranged sister-in-law and her husband to represent me and my mother-in-law," Sangavi said.
Her mother-in-law also confirmed they refused to be part of the entourage and blamed TVK for not consulting them before taking their relatives to meet Vijay.
"Since this move has caused huge stress, we decided to return the ₹20 lakh transferred to my account by Vijay. I have sent the money back through a bank on Monday," Sangavi said, displaying an acknowledgement slip of the electronic money transfer.
Sangavi hails from Kodangipatti in Karur district. At the meeting on Monday, Vijay apologised to the family members of the victims for not travelling to Karur and assured them he would stand by them for life.
Meanwhile, Vijay has announced the constitution of a 28-member executive committee to coordinate the party's day-to-day affairs.
In a statement, Vijay confirmed the new executive committee will operate under his guidance. The committee includes the party's top leadership, namely, N Anand, general secretary, Aadhav Arjuna, general secretary — election campaign management, KG Arunraj, general secretary — policy and propaganda, CTR Nirmal Kumar, joint general secretary, A Rajasekar, headquarters secretary and A Rajmohan, C Vijayalakshmi, and M Arul Prakasam, deputy general secretaries.
The committee also includes 18 district secretaries, notably VP Mathiyazhagan, the Karur west district secretary. Mathiyazhagan was named as the first accused in the case registered by the Karur police (and later by the Central Bureau of Investigation) following the stampede in Karur on September 27 during a rally addressed by Vijay, which claimed 41 lives. Two primary members of the party, including N Marie Wilson, who is associated with an educational institution in Chennai, were also named as part of the committee.
Also read: TVK's Vijay to meet kin of Karur stampede victims
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