Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay recently took a stern stand against corruption, saying that in his state, not a single person involved in corruption, taking bribes or misusing power would be allowed to continue such acts.
Speaking at a rally in Karur, Vijay urged people to refuse to pay bribes if anyone demanded them. Reassuring the public, the chief minister said he stood with them and asked them to firmly say “no” when asked for a bribe.
“When someone asks you for a bribe, tell them directly that you won’t give it. I will be with you. Even after that if someone forces you, tell them, ‘our son, our brother, our Vijay is the one ruling this state.’ Tell them very strongly,” he said at the rally, drawing loud cheers and applause from the audience.
“When you are with me, not a single person involved in corruption, taking bribes or misusing power will be able to continue such acts,” he added.
Vijay made the comments at a rally in Karur on Friday. This was the chief minister’s first visit to the district after a stampede in 2025 killed over 41 people at his pre-election rally.
DMK attacks Vijay
A senior DMK leader T K S Elangovan accused the Vijay government of taking bribes. Responding to corruption charges against the previous DMK administration, the minister pointed out internal rifts within TVK.
He said that a lawyer from Vijay’s party had filed a lawsuit alleging that a senior leader and general secretary took bribes ranging from ₹lakh to ₹20 lakh for appointing party lawyers.
“We didn’t make these allegations; a lawyer from their own party went to court. If you ask Vijay about this, he might have an answer,” Elangovan remarked, news agency PTI reported.
Vijay blames police
Expressing deep grief over those killed in the stampede, Vijay launched a sharp attack on police for not providing enough protection for a huge crowd. He added that no warning was given to him by the police before the Karur event despite the large turnout.
“After finishing the Namakkal meeting, when we were coming to Karur, couldn’t the Karur police have alerted us? They could have cancelled the meeting if they felt the crowd could not be controlled. They had every right to do so. Instead, they brought us to the venue. I believed them completely and even thanked the police officers that day. I never imagined such a tragedy would happen,” Vijay said.
Questioning the handling of the event, Vijay asked, “Who is responsible for all this? Who gave the orders? People, I ask you, was adequate police protection provided for such a huge crowd?”
“If my picture appeared on television, children would smile and call me ‘Vijay uncle’. We lost those innocent children who were like God. Even while I was grieving, people mocked me and blamed me, asking why I had ‘run away and hidden’,” he said.
He announced a memorial in the honour of those who died and said that the TVK would construct it in Karur to ensure future generations remember the incident and to prevent such tragedies from being politicised.
“In order to make the coming generation aware of the conspiracy and plot against us, so that no one even thinks of another political conspiracy, we announce that a memorial will be built in Karur on behalf of our TVK.”
Job offers handed to families
He also handed over compassionate appointment orders to members of 31 families affected by the stampede.
The beneficiaries were provided jobs as junior assistant, office assistant and night watchman in the school education, revenue, rural development, urban affairs, police, registration and town panchayats departments, and at the Karur collectorate, as per PTI.
