On Saturday night, after one of the worst-ever stampedes took place at Thalapathy Vijay's political rally in Karur, the actor-politician rushed back to Chennai in a chopper. He didn't express condolences through the media, and he didn't go to the hospital to express his solidarity with the families of the victims. This has turned out to be disastrous optics for Vijay. As per media reports, Vijay had "showed up 6 hours late, leaving crowds waiting and swelling".
Vijay and his party have been roundly criticized by many. "TVK failed to build the second rank. There is no visible face on the Ground Zero to handle the current situation. With Vijay returning to Chennai, his party is clueless on how to handle this situation. Vijay should have led this from the front; he should have visited the hospital instead of returning to Chennai," wrote journalist Arvind Gunasekar.
Vijay's supporters argue that his presence in the hospital nearby would have led to chaos, as security issues would have arisen with mobs swarming the venue.
It has to be seen how Vijay will handle the fallout of the unspeakable tragedy and his perceived lack of sensitivity. It's likely that he will announce a large ex gratia to the families of the deceased.
