Did Vijay body-shame Stalin? Tamil Nadu CM under fire for gesture in Assembly

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay is under fire after he allegedly mocked DMK supremo MK Stalin’s physical appearance with a gesture during a powerful speech tearing into the opposition party in the state assembly on Monday.CPI(M) leader P Shanmugam accused Vijay of launching a personal attack on Stalin by appearing to mimic the broken jaw the former chief minister suffered after being assaulted during his detention under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the Emergency."It is a well-known historical fact that the Emergency period in India witnessed massive struggles to protect democracy, accompanied by repression and excesses. During that time, former Chief Minister Thiru MK Stalin was brutally assaulted by the police, resulting in a broken jaw," Shanmugam said in a post on X."Ridiculing someone's physical appearance is condemnable, regardless of who engages in it; for the Chief Minister himself to do so is an act of irresponsibility," he stated. Shanmugam’s rebuke was startling considering his party provides outside support to Vijay’s ruling TVK.VIJAY'S FIERY ASSEMBLY SPEECHThe Tamil Nadu Assembly witnessed heated exchanges on Monday after Vijay mounted an all-out attack on the DMK, taking apart its ‘Mr Clean’ image with allegations of rampant corruption. Citing Enforcement Directorate documents and findings of the Sarkaria Commission, Vijay targeted Stalin and his son, former Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin. He alleged that kickbacks were collected as “party funds” from contractors executing state-funded infrastructure projects.DMK lawmakers protested the allegations and staged a walkout led by Udhayanidhi Stalin.The actor-turned-politician then referred to the history of MISA. As he spoke, he placed the palm of his right hand against his jaw, a gesture widely seen as a reference to Stalin’s broken jaw and a mockery of his physical condition."There should be some political decency and decorum, at least to some extent. After that, it is up to them -- if they want to take it up, they can; otherwise, they can leave it," Vijay said. "Whatever we say, we are people who have seen MISA. If MISA is brought into everything and everyone who has seen MISA is mentioned, we don’t know what to do."CPIM OBJECTSIn his tweet, P Shanmugam said Vijay should have focused on issues affecting the public rather than slinging mud at the erstwhile DMK regime."Instead of speaking about issues concerning the people, his reply targeted the principal Opposition party. When all democratic organisations are under the clutches of the Enforcement Directorate, levelling allegations made by the agency is not appropriate," he said.The Left leader also accused Vijay of violating the ethics of the Assembly by using the House to make personal attacks."Transforming the floor of the Assembly, funded by the hard-earned tax money of the people of Tamil Nadu, into a stage for personal attacks and self-congratulation rather than public welfare is an absolute betrayal of legislative ethics," Shanmugam said.DMK FIRES BACKThe DMK rejected Vijay’s corruption allegations as baseless. Udhayanidhi Stalin accused the Chief Minister of adopting “diversionary tactics” to avoid answering Opposition questions about the state’s law-and-order situation.He compared Vijay’s speech to a “memorised recitation competition” and challenged the government to act if it had cases against DMK leaders.DMK leader O Panneerselvam also criticised Vijay’s speech, calling it “drama” and objecting to his conduct in the House.- EndsPublished By: Devika BhattacharyaPublished On: Sep 8, 2026 10:41 IST