3 DMK Leaders Booked Over Remarks Against Tamil Nadu CM Vijay, Cabinet Colleague

Tamil Nadu: 3 DMK leaders booked over alleged remarks against CM Vijay, minister

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Police have registered cases against three senior Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leaders over alleged derogatory remarks directed at Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and cabinet minister C T R Nirmal Kumar during protests held across the state on September 12.

The leaders named in the cases are DMK deputy general secretary and Nilgiris MP A Raja, former minister and Harbour MLA P K Sekar Babu, and Rishivandiyam MLA Vasantham Karthikeyan. 

Cases follow statewide DMK protests

The DMK had organised statewide demonstrations on September 12 in response to remarks made by Chief Minister Vijay in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on September 7 concerning the detention of DMK president M K Stalin under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the Emergency.

During the protests, police alleged that the three leaders made objectionable comments against Vijay and Nirmal Kumar. Separate cases were subsequently registered in different parts of the state. 

A case against A Raja was registered by Saidapet police based on a complaint from a TVK functionary. According to the complaint, his speech included remarks about Vijay and Nirmal Kumar that police considered objectionable.

A separate case was registered against Sekar Babu at North Beach police station. Police cited provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to alleged intentional insult, obscene words, promoting enmity, spreading false information and criminal intimidation. 

Kallakurichi police also registered a case against Vasantham Karthikeyan over comments allegedly made during the same protest. 

A Raja responds to police case

Speaking about the cases, A Raja said that if a case has been filed, the party would face the legal proceedings.

The remarks attributed to Raja also drew criticism from within the political sphere. DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi shared a Thirukkural couplet on controlling one's speech, which was widely interpreted as a response to the controversy. Raja subsequently expressed regret over part of his comments in a post on X. 

DMK alleges political targeting

DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan defended the party's right to criticise the government and alleged that the TVK administration was targeting opposition leaders.

Elangovan argued that the opposition had the right to raise questions about the government's functioning and claimed that cases were being filed against DMK leaders instead of addressing issues raised by the opposition in the Assembly. These are the DMK's allegations and have not been independently established. 

The latest cases come amid heightened political exchanges between the TVK government led by Vijay and the DMK opposition, following several contentious Assembly debates and public statements in recent days.

For now, the police cases represent allegations at the investigation stage; registration of an FIR does not establish guilt.