Post-Karur stampede, TVK chief Vijay seeks police nod for Salem rally on December 4

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The Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has applied to the Salem district police for permission to hold an election campaign in the city on December 4.

According to a report by India Today, the party is also awaiting the Tamil Nadu government’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for political meetings, which the state has been asked to draft following a recent High Court directive.

TVK halted all public events after the Karur stampede on September 29, which left 41 people dead during an election campaign led by actor-politician Vijay.

The party has since announced that its future campaign events will be restricted to weekdays, moving away from the earlier Saturday gatherings held prior to the Karur tragedy. The incident prompted the Madras High Court to instruct the state government to frame SOPs for political events.

As per the draft SOP, political parties must provide at least 10 days’ prior notice before holding any rally or public meeting. It also suggests a refundable security deposit based on the estimated crowd size—ranging from ₹1 lakh for gatherings of 5,000 to 10,000 people, to ₹20 lakh for events expected to draw more than 50,000 attendees.

Organisers will also have to furnish detailed event information, including the route of any roadshow, the exact stretch where leaders will address supporters, and the expected arrival time of key speakers, enabling police to plan traffic management and crowd control effectively.