Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay condemned DMK president M K Stalin over the alleged remarks against TVK candidate P. Sathyabama during an election campaign in Dharapuram. He accused the former chief minister of body-shaming and making inappropriate comments about her.
Vijay called Stalin's comments “slander, misogyny and personal abuse.”
He said he was condemning the remarks “as a son, brother and younger brother of Tamil women” and asserted that voters in Dharapuram would respond through their ballots when they vote on October 6.
Sathyabama was previously associated with AIADMK. At the DMK campaign meeting, Stalin criticised her, over her decision to join the ruling TVK. Stalin allegedly referred to her using terms including “petti” (suitcase) and “balti” (somersault), suggesting that she had switched political sides for money.
In a post on X, Vijay alleged that the DMK had organised a “defamatory and utterly uncivilised meeting” in Dharapuram under Stalin’s leadership.
He accused Stalin of “body-shaming” and making “highly inappropriate remarks” about Sathyabama, referring to her as “our party candidate” and “sister Mrs P Sathyabama.”
Vijay also accused the DMK of fostering what he described as a toxic political culture and alleged that the party had repeatedly used derogatory language against women.
“The people of Tamil Nadu have long realised that obscenity, malice and vulgarity are intertwined in the DMK's DNA,” he said, alleging that party leaders had made offensive comments about women even in their presence.
Vijay said he strongly condemned what he described as the DMK’s “continuous derogatory language targeting women” and expressed confidence that voters, particularly in Dharapuram, would reject such conduct.
Earlier on Saturday, Energy and Law Minister R Nirmal Kumar also accused the DMK leadership of making derogatory remarks about women.
Nirmal Kumar alleged that Stalin and his son, Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin, had used inappropriate language during their Dharapuram campaign and claimed that the remarks reflected a lack of focus on issues concerning the electorate.
“The DMK leadership is in a state of utter desperation because they have nothing positive to offer the electorate,” he told reporters, alleging that the party was resorting to inappropriate language as part of its campaign strategy.
He further claimed that the DMK’s political influence was declining and that voters would reject the party in the bypoll.
Nirmal Kumar also dismissed allegations of horse-trading by rival parties ahead of the election, describing them as a “baseless misinformation campaign.”
Asked about the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, he reiterated the government’s opposition to the exercise.
