Post Karur tragedy, the Tamil Nadu government has come up with stringent rules and regulations for public meetings and rallies, and has banned rallies on highways. The government has also tasked the one-member judicial commission, headed by former High Court Justice Aruna Jagadesan, with fixing accountability and proposing safety protocols.
In fact, a day after the stampede, which claimed 41 innocent lives in Karur, Chief Minister M.K.Stalin had said that the government will soon come up with a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for conducting public rallies, roadshows and meetings to avoid any disaster or fatal accident. The government seems to have tasked the judicial commission to come up with an interim report and recommendations before the end of October 2025, well ahead of the election, which is due in April 2026.
According to highly-placed sources, the government has reportedly urged the commission to expedite the interim report, so that the rules can be framed accordingly.
The commission was formed under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, within hours after the stampede. As per the government order, the commission is mandated to conduct a thorough probe into the circumstances and the reasons that led to the stampede and the fatal deaths.
As per the Terms of Reference (ToR) published in the government gazette, the commission is tasked to fix responsibility for the lapses that led to the stampede, review the permission granted by the establishment and the extent of compliance by the event organisers, studying the rules and regulations for granting procedures for public rallies and SoPs for political party rallies, so as to ensure protection for public life and property, and suggest preventive measures to advert such tragedies in the future.
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The rules are likely to address key issues like dedicated spaces for conducting public events, rallies and political party meetings, a ban on bringing children below the age of 12 to such events, and making the organisers and event planners fully responsible for any fatal accident.
The rules and regulations, once in place, will mean a huge shift in crowd management for the political parties ahead of the election. In the case of actor-politician Vijay, his party Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam always believed in crowd-pulling ahead of him reaching the venue; be it in Tiruchirapalli or Karur, the party made an announcement ahead of him reaching the venue, so that the crowd gathered to get a glimpse of the actor and also hear him.
The committee, however, has been tasked to complete the investigation and submit its report in English and Tamil within three months. Incidentally, the commission has been given enormous powers to summon the witness and enforce attendance under section 5 and sub-sections (2), (3), (4) and (5) of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952. |
