TN Assembly row: Stalin accuses CM Vijay of mocking prison ordeal

DMK leader M.K. Stalin has accused Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay of mocking his Emergency-era imprisonment under MISA during Assembly proceedings. Stalin recalled torture in jail, including a fractured jaw, and urged Vijay to uphold the dignity of his office while attacking his government’s record on law and order, welfare promises, and cancelled projects.

Chennai: DMK leader M.K. Stalin has sharply criticised Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay over a gesture in the Assembly that was widely interpreted as mocking Stalin’s imprisonment under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act during the Emergency.

The controversy erupted when CM Vijay replied to the debate on demands for grants for the police and fire and rescue services. During his hour-long address, he referred to claims about those who had “seen MISA” and made a gesture towards his chin.

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Senior DMK leaders condemned the act on social media, accusing the Chief Minister of belittling Stalin’s suffering in prison.

CM Vijay later said his body language during the September 7 proceedings was entirely incidental and carried no intention to hurt anyone.

He appealed to people not to interpret it as a personal attack. Responding through a video, Stalin said Vijay had, in fact, pointed to the correct place.

Recalling the Emergency, he said the DMK government was dismissed on January 30, 1976, after M. Karunanidhi organised a massive rally at Marina Beach against the Emergency and strongly opposed MISA. Police arrived at the Gopalapuram residence to arrest him soon after the dismissal, Stalin said. As he was away campaigning, Karunanidhi reportedly asked officers to return the next day and arrest him.

Stalin alleged that he was confined with nine others in a tiny, foul-smelling cell and subjected to repeated beatings and kicks. He said DMK leader Chittibabu died following an assault in prison, while his own jaw was fractured.

The scars of that violence remained, he added, and no insult could erase history.

Addressing CM Vijay directly, Stalin recalled that the Chief Minister had apologised when they met at his residence after making harsh remarks during the election campaign.

Stalin said he had then advised Vijay to speak respectfully about everyone and urged him now to uphold the dignity expected of a Chief Minister.

He also rejected corruption allegations cited from an Enforcement Directorate communication, arguing that the agency had frequently been used for political vendetta and had filed cases even against leaders of Vijay’s Congress ally.

Stalin accused the TVK government of allowing law and order to deteriorate and turning the Assembly into a platform for social-media reels.

He also attacked CM Vijay over the cancellation of the Parandur airport project, incomplete farm-loan relief, the reduction of the promised six free LPG cylinders to three, and failure to raise the monthly women’s assistance from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,500. He urged voters to decide whether this was the change they had expected.