Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, in a fiery address in the Assembly on Tuesday, launched a sharp attack on the DMK and recreated the viral hand-slashing gesture associated with his predecessor M. K. Stalin.
During his speech, Vijay narrated a satirical story aimed at the DMK leadership. In the story, an elderly man searches for a child’s father. A young boy approaches him and asks, "What are you looking for?" The man replies, "They told me your father would be right here. That's why I am searching. Where's your father? I can't find him."
The remark has since sparked political chatter within DMK circles, with speculation about whether M. K. Stalin could re-enter active legislative politics. Stalin had led the DMK campaign in the Assembly elections but suffered a shocking defeat in his stronghold of Kolathur. The party is currently led in the House by his son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, as Leader of the Opposition.
Senior DMK leader and MLA K. N. Nehru hinted at internal discussions about Stalin’s possible return during a public meeting on Wednesday, NDTV reported.
"He asked our leader, 'where is your father?' He would come. Very soon he would come in. That's all we can say now. He would return and take responsibility again. That's for sure,” Nehru said.
“Until yesterday, our cadre were quiet. But after what he said, cadres across Tamil Nadu are asking for his return,” he added. The senior leader’s remarks have sparked rumours that Stalin could contest the upcoming assembly byelections.
During his Assembly speech, Vijay also mimicked Stalin’s widely discussed hand gesture, with Treasury benches responding with desk-thumping and applause. The gesture referenced an earlier moment when Stalin had used a similar sign after finalising a seat-sharing agreement with the Congress.
Vijay further criticised the DMK, saying, “Evils, evils-nu devils pesa koodathu” (devils should not speak about evils), in response to remarks made by Udhayanidhi Stalin a day earlier.
The chief minister’s speech drew a sharp reaction from Stalin, who accused Vijay of turning the Assembly into a stage for performance rather than a forum for governance.
“In the Legislative Assembly, the Chief Minister delivered a performance—spewing scripted slander—under the guise of a reply to the Governor's address. It was inappropriate for the Speaker to go out of his way to ensure the Chief Minister’s speech was filmed in a single take—without interruptions from the opposition—as if the Assembly’s live camera were a cinema camera,” Stalin said.
