‘Carry own coffin’: Death of 37-year-old man at Vijay’s rally in Salem triggers fresh political crossfire | India News
New Delhi: The death of a 37-year-old man at the Tamilga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) chief’s victory rally in Salem on Friday triggered an intense political exchange, with rival groups attacking the party over the security of the crowd.The man, identified as Maharashtra native Suraj, who was living in Salem, fainted after complaining of chest pain while waiting at the rally venue and was rushed to a private hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead, news agency PTI reported. Preliminary investigations indicated that Suraj was a heart patient and had previously undergone angioplasty.Police said that the incident took place before Vijay arrived for the meeting of the district officials. The death has sparked strong reactions from political rivals. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam spokesperson Kovai Sathyan took a dig at TVK in a post on X, commenting that anyone who attends TVK rallies in future “will have to carry their own coffin.”The Bharatiya Janata Party also joined the criticism, with youth wing leader Binoj P Selvam alleging that the incident highlighted a lack of concern for cadre safety. “It doesn’t matter if it happens accidentally the first time. But the mistake is repeated,” he said in a post on X.The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam echoed similar concerns. DMK spokesperson A Saravanan questioned how many more lives would be lost ahead of the assembly elections and claimed that provisions such as shelter and drinking water were inadequate at the assembly.TVK, however, denied these allegations and said that advance preparations have been made for the rally as required. “We are saddened by this. We heard from the family that he suffered a heart attack today. We gave first aid and sent our ambulance. But unfortunately, he passed away. We are definitely saddened. Our staff is with the family and is supporting them,” TVK General Secretary CTR Nirmal Kumar said.“We had permission for 4,998 people, and we allowed less than that. More than 30 doctors were present. Several mini-clinics were set up. All ambulances were reserved for emergencies. Our permission was from 12 to 3 pm. After our leader’s speech, we finished the program at 1:10 PM. We are definitely very concerned about public safety… There has been no other incident or anything else,” he told news agency ANI.Later there was a fight between journalists and TVK staff. The journalists alleged that the cadres tried to attack them while covering the incident.A source in TVK, however, told PTI that the party has already appealed to its workers and members of the public who were ill to refrain from attending the meeting, adding that the death was unfortunate and not linked to any system malfunction.Earlier, in a TVK event since the Karur stampede in September 2025, in which 41 people were killed.
