DMK leader faces police action over derogatory remarks against Vijay
A political controversy has erupted in Tamil Nadu after Chennai Police booked a DMK councillor and a meeting organiser over alleged vulgar comments directed at Chief Minister and TVK chief Vijay during a public meeting.
A video circulating on social media purportedly shows councillor Sudha Dheenadayalan referring to Vijay as a “dog” while responding to what she alleged were body-shaming comments by the Chief Minister against DMK president and former Chief Minister MK Stalin. During her speech, she also compared the physical appearance of Vijay and Stalin.
The episode has put the DMK in an uncomfortable position. Chennai Mayor and party leader R Priya appeared to laugh during the speech, while senior leader and DMK Parliamentary Party leader MK Kanimozhi seemed visibly uneasy. A separate video shared by the DMK shows Kanimozhi asking the speaker to maintain decorum.
In the video of the speech, Sudha is heard defending Stalin’s appearance and making disparaging remarks about Vijay’s looks. She also compares the two leaders’ appearances before declaring, “My leader is a lion.”
The comments triggered a strong response from Vijay’s party. Industries Minister Keerthana was among the first to highlight the video, questioning the political culture of publicly insulting an elected Chief Minister and appearing to enjoy such remarks.
In a post written in Tamil, Keerthana said electoral disappointment could not justify derogatory personal attacks against a democratically elected leader. She also stressed that women’s participation in politics should be accompanied by dignity and responsibility in public life.
PWD Minister Aadhav Arjuna subsequently called for immediate legal action against the speaker. He accused the DMK of failing to uphold the standards of civilised political discourse that it claims to support and urged the party to prevent such incidents through lawful measures.
Aadhav also questioned Stalin’s response, asking whether the DMK chief was silently witnessing the episode without condemning it or encouraging such language.
Meanwhile, the DMK released another video showing Kanimozhi and MLA Sekar Babu reprimanding Sudha Dheenadayalan and asking her to maintain decorum. In the footage, Kanimozhi emphasises that a party should not abandon its standards simply because of the conduct of its political opponents, adding that their behaviour should not determine one’s own.