Chennai: The Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, Udayanidhi Stalin, is facing flak after slogans related to actor Trisha were raised at his rally. Notably, the incident took place when Stalin was criticising Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jospeh Vijay at the rally over his handling of the Cauvery dispute. TVK MLA Rhevanth Charan termed the DMK’s conduct as “absolutely disgusting”.
In his X post, Charan said acts expose the mindset and declining standards of the Arivalayam clan. “Passing such disgraceful comments against anyone is completely unacceptable. It exposes the mindset, political culture, and declining standards of the Arivalayam clan. Your announced protest collapsed even before it could begin. Now, desperate for attention, you have resorted to cheap provocation and engagement farming,” the TVK MLA wrote.
Charan also warned the Opposition against continued arrogance and inappropriate behaviour”. “This is precisely why the people of Tamil Nadu rejected you and confined you to the position you are in today. Continue with this arrogance and indecency, and you will soon be erased from public relevance altogether. Even by Arivalayam’s already abysmal standards, this is a new low,” he wrote.
Notably, the DMK staged a protest in Thanjavur under Stalin’s leadership against the TVK government. The Opposition party was demanding firm action to uphold Tamil Nadu’s rights over Cauvery water, a complete waiver of agricultural crop loans, and a special relief package for Delta farmers, reported ANI.
On Monday, Stalin criticised Vijay and his TVK government. He alleged that the Chief Minister’s only concern was the DMK and accused him of levelling “fake charges” against the party leaders. As the former Tamil Nadu CM made the remarks, DMK cadres at the venue raised slogans chanting “Trisha, Trisha.” The slogans drew attention during the protest, while several senior DMK leaders seated on the dais were seen laughing, reported the news agency.
Pausing his speech, Udhayanidhi, with a smirk on his face, also responded with an offensive double entendre, a remark that has since sparked severe political backlash, reported PTI.
“When our Tamil Nadu farmers travelled to Delhi to protest over the Mekedatu issue, they were arrested in Maharashtra. Our party leader has issued a statement condemning this. But the Chief Minister has not uttered a word because Maharashtra is ruled by the BJP. The Chief Minister simply does not have the courage to speak against them,” Stalin had said.
Expanding on his critique regarding governance and executive actions, Udhayanidhi Stalin said, “Even after completing three months in office, the Chief Minister has not even uttered the word ‘BJP’ once. That shows just how ‘brave’ he is.”
Challenging the Chief Minister’s outreach efforts regarding the inter-state water issue, he stated, “When farmers across Tamil Nadu united against this TVK government, the Chief Minister staged a drama by announcing that he would travel to Karnataka. Our party leader and many others urged him not to go, but he ignored all those requests. He fell silent only after the Karnataka Chief Minister made his position clear.”
“Leave aside meeting the Karnataka Chief Minister, did Vijay first meet the farmers of Tamil Nadu?” Stalin added.
He further said, “From the Chief Minister to ministers, MLAs, and even their relatives, everyone seems obsessed with shooting reels and releasing videos in the name of inspections.”
Condemning the reliance on prior administration projects for publicity, he said, “Instead of using inspections to divert the people’s attention, the Chief Minister should stop inspecting schemes launched by the DMK and instead introduce his own schemes and inspect those.”
“To put it in language that Vijay will understand, Don’t use someone else’s ghee to make sweets for your own house,” Stalin added.
(With inputs from ANI)