Chennai:
Chennai Police have charged a DMK councillor and a meeting organiser over alleged vulgar remarks against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and TVK chief Vijay at a public meeting, triggering a political row.
In a video, councillor Sudha Dheenadayalan is purportedly seen calling Vijay a “dog” while responding to what she alleged were body-shaming remarks by the chief minister against DMK president and former chief minister MK Stalin. In her speech, she also compared Vijay’s appearance to Stalin’s.
The remarks have put the DMK in an awkward spot, with Chennai Mayor and party leader R Priya seen laughing during the speech, while senior leader and DMK Parliamentary Party leader MK Kanimozhi appeared visibly uncomfortable. In another video shared by the DMK, Kanimozhi is seen urging the speaker to maintain decorum.
NDTV could not independently verify either video.
“You are finding fault with our leader’s handsome looks, you dog. Get my leader to stand; he’s 74. You are just 52; that’s your age, dog,” Sudha is heard saying in the first video. She then goes on to compare Vijay’s appearance with Stalin’s, saying the Chief Minister would look like a “corpse with cotton wool in the nostrils”, before declaring, “My leader is a lion.”
The remarks drew criticism from Vijay’s party, with Industries Minister Keerthana among the first to flag the video. In a post in Tamil, she questioned the political culture of insulting an elected Chief Minister and appearing to enjoy such remarks from the stage.
“You may be frustrated by your electoral defeat. But what kind of political culture is it to speak derogatorily about a democratically elected chief minister and enjoy it while standing on a stage?” Keerthana asked. “Standing on a political stage as a woman is not, by itself, a matter of pride. The real pride of women lies in upholding dignity and responsibility in public life,” she added.
PWD Minister Aadhav Arjuna subsequently demanded legal action against the speaker, alleging that the DMK was failing to uphold the standards of civilised politics it professed. “The woman speaker who spoke indecently on the DMK stage must face immediate legal action,” he said, urging the party to prevent such conduct through lawful means.
Questioning Stalin’s silence, Aadhav asked whether the DMK chief was merely watching such incidents without condemning them or was himself enjoying and encouraging such crude remarks.
The DMK, meanwhile, shared another video showing Kanimozhi and MLA Sekar Babu reprimanding Sudha Dheenadayalan and urging her to maintain decorum. “We should not become what we are based on who our opponents are. Let them speak what they know. That is their standard,” Kanimozhi said.
“We are from the Dravidian movement, celebrating Periyar, Annadurai and Kalaignar Karunanidhi, and following in their footsteps. We should remember this and speak,” she added.
Sekar Babu, a former minister, also counselled the speaker against abandoning civility.
“One advice for Sudha. Your speech is fast, and you are expressing your anger. But we should not give up civility. Speak and rise, but it would be nice if you avoid speaking in singular terms,” he said, urging her to avoid addressing political opponents disrespectfully.
The row follows a confrontation in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in which Vijay’s remarks and gestures about Stalin’s appearance were interpreted by the DMK as body-shaming. The criticism was linked to Stalin’s jaw injury, which he suffered during alleged police assault after his arrest under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the Emergency in 1976.
Vijay has denied the body-shaming allegation and described his Assembly gesture as inadvertent.
With below-the-belt comments continuing even five months after the elections, the controversy has renewed calls for leaders on both sides to move beyond personal attacks and focus on public welfare and good governance.
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