'Not intentional': Vijay after he's accused of body-shaming Stalin
What's the story
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and TVK chief Vijay has clarified that his gesture of a "broken jaw" in the Assembly directed at former CM MK Stalin was unintentional. The clarification comes after Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) accused him of body-shaming Stalin. In a post on X, Vijay said his body language during his speech on September 7 "was not in any way intentional."
CM
The clarification
"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.
Protest details
DMK MLAs protest against Vijay's speech
The controversy erupted after Vijay's speech, where he targeted the DMK government and alleged corruption.
During his address, he made a gesture that was interpreted as mimicking Stalin's broken jaw.
Stalin had suffered this injury during his detention under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the Emergency.
"For everything our friends keep saying, we have seen MISA. Not sure what to do if they bring in MISA for everything," Vijay said and placed his palm against his jaw.
Criticism voiced
CPI(M) leader slams Vijay
Following this, DMK legislators staged a sit-in outside Speaker JCD Prabhakar's chamber, demanding expungement of Vijay's remarks from Assembly records.
CPI(M) leader P Shanmugam also slammed Vijay for allegedly mocking Stalin's physical appearance.
He called it an "act of irresponsibility" for the Chief Minister to do so.
Shanmugam said, "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."
Speech focus
Speech led to walkout by DMK legislators
Vijay's speech had focused on corruption allegations against the DMK government.
He cited documents from the Enforcement Directorate and findings of the Sarkaria Commission to allege kickbacks were collected as "party funds" from contractors executing state-funded infrastructure projects.
The DMK lawmakers protested these allegations and staged a walkout led by Udhayanidhi Stalin.
Defense offered
Speaker defends CM's remarks
On Tuesday, opposition leaders staged protests inside the Assembly again.
Speaker Prabhakar defended Vijay's remarks, saying they referred to issues already discussed in the House. He rejected DMK's demand to expunge them from Assembly records.
"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...speech on the MISA Act," he said.