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What did Udhayanidhi Stalin say on actor Trisha that led to his detention?
Stalin's comments came during a speech on the Cauvery water dispute with Karnataka in Thanjavur.
DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin was detained on Tuesday after Tamil Nadu chief minister Vijay's TVK filed complaints with police and the National Commission for Women (NCW) alleging Stalin made remarks against actor Trisha Krishnan.
His comments came during a speech on the Cauvery water dispute with Karnataka in Thanjavur. The TVK has accused Udhayanidhi of making offensive remarks against Krishnan.
What exactly happened?
While giving a speech, Stalin was met with chants of ‘Trisha, Trisha”, from the audience, following which he took a pause, smiled and made a remark with a mention to the Cauvery river project. His supporters cheered and hooted on his response.
According to Vijay's TVK, Udhyanidhi's remarks had a bad conotation with respect to Trisha and were “double-meaning”. His comments drew flak from TVK leaders, with MLA Rhevanth Charan terming the remark "disgusting" and accusing the DMK leadership of lowering the standards of political discourse.
Oppn, fans slam Stalin
"Absolutely disgusting. 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. 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," Charan said, news agency ANI reported.
MDMK Principal Secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Durai Vaiko also criticised the alleged remark, saying the focus of the event should have remained on the Cauvery issue and the concerns of Tamil Nadu's farmers.
"The issue was about Cauvery and the sufferings of the Tamil Nadu farmers. It is highly condemnable that the Opposition leader Udhayanidhi Stalin has uttered such derogatory comments. It goes against women. I condemn it. It was not a stage to settle personal scores. It is unfortunate," Vaiko told ANI.
The internet also did not find the comment funny, with furious fans accusing him of directing the double entendre comment towards Trisha. “Udhayanidhi, who spoke irrelevant double-entendre words that were vulgar and indecent about actress Trisha in front of thousands of men, staging a so-called farmers' struggle as a theatrical farce!” slammed one X (formerly Twitter) user. “Made his Mom, Daughter and wife so Proud,” slammed another.
TVK ministers including Aadhav Arjuna and N Anand also strongly condemned the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, terming their conduct "absolutely disgusting" and stating that such acts expose the "mindset, political culture, and declining standards of the Arivalayam clan."
The party also announced that it would hold a state wide protest on Tuesday against Udhayanidhi over his alleged remarks.
What DMK said
Stalin's DMK on Tuesday rejected the allegations, saying that the LoP had not referred to any individual.
"He has not mentioned any word about the particular woman. It is all false," DMK leader TR Baalu was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Stalin has further approached the Madras High Court seeking anticipatory bail, according to Live Law.
In first visuals since, police can be seen escorting Stalin from his residence and taking him away in a vehicle.
