Chennai: Facing a storm of criticism for allegedly mocking Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M.K. Stalin’s facial injury linked to a broken jaw he suffered during the 1975-77 Emergency, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay Tuesday clarified that the gesture he made in the Assembly was inadvertent and not intended to hurt anyone.
The controversy arose during Vijay’s reply to the debate on demands for grants for the police department in the Assembly Monday. Criticising the DMK and referring to its frequent mentions of the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) from the Emergency era, Vijay placed the palm of his right hand near his jaw. Opposition leaders, including from the DMK, interpreted this as bodyshaming, or mimicking the lasting effect of Stalin’s jaw injury during his imprisonment because of the MISA protests.
Vijay responded on X Tuesday, “My body language, which inadvertently came across in between, was not in any way intentional. It was purely spontaneous and carried no ulterior motive. I requested that it should not be interpreted as an act intended to hurt anyone’s feelings on a personal level.”
Earlier Monday, DMK chief whip E.V. Velu and others accused Vijay of demeaning Stalin instead of addressing issues raised in the debate. This also led to a protest by DMK legislators. M.K. Stalin, then the young wing leader in his early 20s, was arrested in early 1976 after the Karunanidhi-led DMK government was dismissed under MISA during the Emergency (1975–77) and lodged in Madras Central Prison for several months until the Emergency ended. DMK leaders describe the mark as a “brave scar” from resisting repression when democracy was under strain.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) state secretary P. Shanmugam, whose party provides external support to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government, also strongly objected to Vijay’s actions, accusing him of body-shaming Stalin and launching a personal attack by appearing to mimic the broken jaw.
On Tuesday, Shanmugam posted that the Emergency saw struggles to protect democracy along with repression and excesses, when many left leaders were arrested and attacked. He said that former CM Stalin was brutally assaulted by the police, resulting in a broken jaw. He called ridiculing someone’s physical appearance condemnable regardless of who does it, and “an act of irresponsibility” when done by the chief minister.
He also criticised using the taxpayer-funded Assembly for personal attacks or self-praise instead of public issues, and said harsh personal attacks belong outside it.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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