Tamil Nadu BJP state president Nainar Nagendran has landed in a fresh controversy after making a remark about Chief Minister Vijay’s mother during a public speech.
Referring to the current government, Nagendran said, “In the Legislative Assembly some are in search of a father. Only by asking the mother at home, one can know who the father is.” He further asked, what the use was in searching for such answers in the Assembly. He added, “this is the situation of the present government.”
The comment comes in context of CM Vijay’s repeated digs at Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin over his father MK Stalin’s defeat in Kolathur, asking Udhayanidhi where his father was. That remark had already drawn criticism from several quarters for targeting a senior leader.
Nagendran’s response has now triggered a fresh round of backlash, with leaders from across the political spectrum calling out the remark for being personal and disrespectful.
K Annamalai openly criticised Nagendran’s comments. Annamalai said it was deeply regrettable that Nagendran had crossed the line of political decency by making remarks about the Chief Minister’s mother. He said leaders can disagree, criticise policies, and question the government, but attacking someone’s family, especially their mother, is simply not acceptable. He called it outdated politics that has no place in today’s Tamil Nadu and said young people and children should not be taught this kind of behaviour.
Congress MP and Tamil Nadu party chief Manickam Tagore also slammed Nagendran, saying his comment about CM Vijay and his mother came out of political frustration and was strongly condemnable. He added that this isn’t the first time Nagendran has made such uncivilised remarks, calling it a repeated habit. Tagore demanded that Nagendran issue an unconditional public apology to the Chief Minister and the people of Tamil Nadu for the comment, which he said was aimed at gaining attention by disrespecting women.