Not intentional: Vijay's clarification over accusations of body shaming MK Stalin

TVK chief Vijay clarified that his Assembly gesture, which the opposition accused of being an attempt to body-shame Chief Minister MK Stalin, was inadvertent and "not in any way intentional", and said it should not be interpreted as an act intended to hurt anyone personally.Vijay clarified that the gesture he made in the Assembly was inadvertent and not intended to hurt anyone personally. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and TVK chief Vijay on Tuesday clarified that a gesture he made during his speech in the Tamil Nadu Assembly was inadvertent and was not intended to hurt anyone personally, after the DMK accused him of body-shaming Chief Minister MK Stalin.In a post on X, Vijay said his body language during his response to the police department’s grant request in the Assembly on September 7 “was not in any way intentional”.“I wish to clarify that, during my response speech on the police department's grant request in the Legislative Assembly on 7.9.2026, my body language, which inadvertently came across in between, was not in any way intentional. Therefore, I kindly request that it not be interpreted as an act intended to hurt anyone’s feelings on a personal level,” Vijay said in a post on X. The clarification came after DMK legislators staged a sit-in outside Speaker JCD Prabhakar’s chamber, demanding that Vijay’s remarks be expunged from the Assembly records, before Marshals forcibly removed them.Additionally, CPI(M) leader P Shanmugam accused Vijay of making a personal attack on Stalin by appearing to mimic the former chief minister’s broken jaw. Stalin had suffered the injury 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 added.VIJAY’S FIERY ASSEMBLY SPEECHThe controversy erupted during Vijay’s speech in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday, when the TVK chief launched a sharp attack on the ruling DMK and questioned its ‘Mr Clean’ image, alleging corruption.Citing Enforcement Directorate documents and findings of the Sarkaria Commission, Vijay targeted MK 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.While referring to the history of MISA, Vijay placed the palm of his right hand against his jaw. The gesture was widely interpreted as a reference to Stalin’s broken jaw.“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,” he added.CPI(M) OBJECTS TO VIJAY’S GESTUREShanmugam criticised Vijay for allegedly using the Assembly to make personal attacks instead of focusing on issues concerning the public.“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 CPI(M) leader also accused Vijay of violating legislative ethics by turning the Assembly floor into a platform for 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.SPEAKER PRABHAKAR’S STAND ON THE ISSUESpeaker JCD Prabhakar rejected the DMK’s demand to expunge Vijay’s MISA remarks, saying the Chief Minister had referred to issues already discussed in the House."The DMK wasn't ready to listen for even a minute to CM Vijay's speech yesterday. CM Vijay mentioned things that were already mentioned in the House regarding the MISA Act. So there is no need to expunge the CM's speech on the MISA Act," the Speaker said.Vijay’s clarification came amid the political row over the gesture, with the TVK chief making it clear that it should not be viewed as a deliberate attempt to hurt Stalin personally.- EndsPublished By: Sonali VermaPublished On: Sep 8, 2026 17:51 IST