Actor and Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay visited Kallakurichi on Thursday, June 20, where at least 37 persons have died and more than 100 are hospitalised after consuming spurious liquor. The actor-turned-politician visited the survivors still under treatment at the Kallakurichi Government Hospital and spoke to the patients and later visited the homes of the deceased.
According to reports, Vijay has also directed TVK workers to assist both the survivors and the families of the deceased in Kallakurichi. At the time of his visit to the hospital, 21 bodies of the deceased were carried through Karunapuram in a funeral procession before their cremation.
Vijay had earlier released a statement on the morning of June 20, lashing out at the Tamil Nadu government, accusing them of being indifferent, which led to the incident. Recalling that a similar incident happened at Chengalpattu and Villupuram killing 22 persons, Vijay said, “Even before we have completely recovered from a similar incident last year in which several years have lost, the fact that such an incident has occurred again shows the indifference of the government administration.” He further added that the government should take steps to avoid such instances in the future.
The mass poisoning occurred on June 19 when some residents of Karunapuram village and nearby areas began showing signs of blurred vision, chest and abdominal pain and nausea. By the evening of June 20, the death toll had risen to 37. When TNM visited the village, house after house had funeral pandals in front of it. In one street alone, ten of the residents had lost their lives. Their angry families alleged to TNM that a nexus existed between the liquor peddlers and the local police, that had them captive between fear of backlash and the dread of incidents such as this.
After years of speculation, Vijay formed his political party TVK in February 2024, claiming that “Tamil Nadu is yearning for a political change that can lead to a selfless, transparent, caste-free, visionary and corruption free administration.”