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In the Tamil Nadu Assembly, Karunanidhi is traditionally addressed with honorifics such as “Kalaignar”.
As the DMK’s protest grew, Chief Minister Vijay intervened and stopped the minister’s speech from escalating into a larger confrontation.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay apologised in the state assembly after his TVK government minister referred to former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi by name without using the customary respectful honorifics.
State Forest Minister R V Ranjith Kumar was addressing the assembly when he mentioned the DMK stalwart’s name without affixing “Kalaignar” (scholar) as is the tradition in addressing him in the Assembly. The remark triggered an immediate protest from opposition DMK members, who objected to what they described as a breach of Assembly decorum.
The controversy erupted during a debate on the demands for grants for the Health and Revenue departments. While speaking about alleged cash-for-votes practices in previous elections, Ranjith Kumar referred to the DMK patriarch simply as “Karunanidhi”.
In the Tamil Nadu Assembly, Karunanidhi is traditionally addressed with honorific “Kalaignar”. The omission prompted loud protests from DMK members, led by former minister K K S S R Ramachandran.
Ranjith Kumar was criticising alleged cash-for-votes practices during earlier elections and referred to the controversial “Thirumangalam formula”.
He claimed that as much as Rs 1,500 per vote had been distributed during previous elections in his Kancheepuram constituency.
Contrasting those elections with the present administration, the minister said the current government had come to power without distributing money for votes.
It was during this portion of his speech that he referred to Karunanidhi without the customary honorific.
The Chief Minister quickly intervened to defuse opposition protest, conceding that addressing the late leader in such a manner was wrong and offered an explicit apology on his minister’s behalf.
“I apologise on his behalf,” Vijay said, defusing the tension in the Assembly.
The Chief Minister’s intervention helped defuse the situation, allowing the debate to resume.
Karunanidhi, a five-time Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and longtime DMK leader, died in 2018. The party and its leaders have traditionally referred to him as “Kalaignar”, meaning scholar or artist, as a mark of respect.
(With inputs from agencies)
Key Questions Answered
Ask News18The title “Kalaignar”, meaning scholar or artist, is important in Tamil Nadu politics because it is a customary honorific used to address former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi as a mark of respect. In the Tamil Nadu Assembly, Karunanidhi is traditionally addressed with this honorific.
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Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degre…Read More
August 18, 2026, 08:50 IST
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