DMK Leader Booked for Defamatory Remarks Against CM Vijay

Chennai: A DMK leader here has been booked for making alleged defamatory remarks against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, police said on Tuesday. The ruling TVK lashed out at the opposition party, alleging that its political platforms have become "disgusting."The case has been registered against DMK Chennai Corporation ward councillor Sudha Deenadayalan, who allegedly made the remarks, and DMK functionary Muralidharan. The latter organised the party event here, police said.

Deenadayalan, who serves as the party's Chennai East District Women's Wing Organiser, triggered the controversy targeting the chief minister allegedly for criticising DMK president M K Stalin and addressed him in singular and passed derogatory remarks during the party event on October 7, police said.

TVK general secretary Aadhav Arjuna lashed out at the DMK saying it converted political platforms to launch personal attacks against opponents. The ruling party responded saying senior party leaders Kanimozhi and P K Sekar Babu pulled up the woman councillor after the programme.

Deenadayalan's comments were made in the presence of DMK deputy general secretary and MP Kanimozhi, with former state minister Sekar Babu and Chennai Mayor R Priya having a hearty laugh, as seen in visuals. The comments triggered an intense political row with the ruling TVK lashing out at the DMK for stooping to a political low.

According to a release here, the Greater Chennai City Police booked cases against Sudha Deenadayalan for aiming to incite public disorder following a complaint from TVK Harbour Area Secretary Udayakumar who sought appropriate action against her and Muralidharan.

Video clips circulated on social media showed Deenadayalan purportedly using abusive slurs and making highly personal remarks comparing physical appearances to defend her party leadership.

The incident sharply escalated political friction between the TVK and the DMK. TVK leaders and ministers publicly condemned the speech as a breach of political decorum and demanded an official apology from the senior DMK leaders who shared the stage when the remarks were made.

Deenadayalan purportedly made several aggressive and controversial remarks targeting Vijay while comparing the age of political leaders. Kanimozhi, who was present on the occasion, later said that politicians should not define their own character based on the behavior of their political opponents.

No arrests have been made in the case so far.

Aadhav Arjuna, Tamil Nadu Minister for Public Works and Sports Development, strongly condemned the opposition party, saying "the DMK is mired in ugly, vile language" and that their political platforms have become "disgusting".

Targeting DMK chief Stalin's "silence", Arjuna asked whether the former CM was merely choosing to turn a blind eye to these crude incidents or if he was secretly "enjoying and encouraging" such remarks.

"The woman speaker has stooped to a political low while Mayor Priya, who held a responsible position, is laughing and enjoying it. Mrs Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, who is the DMK deputy general secretary, is keeping her head down and remaining silent. On the one hand, she did not condemn the speaker, but on the other hand, the standard of today's DMK dais is such that Mrs Kanimozhi herself is unable to listen to the speeches of her own party members and bows her head," Arjuna said.

"I strongly emphasise that such indecent acts of the DMK should be stopped immediately through legal means. Only then will democracy and healthy politics be strengthened. Therefore, legal action should be taken immediately against the woman speaker who spoke in an indecent manner on the DMK platform," he said.

The DMK countered by sharing a video claiming that Kanimozhi and Sekar Babu did eventually reprimand Deenadayalan behind the scenes, urging her to maintain political decorum.

At the event, Kanimozhi addressed the foundational principles of the Dravidian movement, outlining the core identity of the DMK, and invoked the party's ideological heritage highlighting three central figures - social reformer "Periyar" EV Ramasamy, late chief minister C N Annadurai and former CM M Karunanidhi to convey that the DMK's political identity is deeply entrenched and does not require validation or fear competition from newly formed parties.

Kanimozhi expressed frustration over the quality of debate in the Assembly, alleging that the ruling party failed to answer questions from the opposition and instead turned the legislative process into a dramatic performance for social media content.