DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin arrested over 'offensive' remarks against Trisha

DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin, who came under fire over offensive remarks referencing actor Trisha during a protest over the Cauvery dispute in Thanjavur, was arrested at his home on Tuesday. 

High drama unfolded in Chennai as the Tamil Nadu Police arrested the Opposition leader from his home over 'offensive' remarks. 

While reacting to the arrest, the DMK leader told mediapersons, "I see the arrest as a joke and will face it legally." 

DMK slammed the arrest calling it political vendetta. "Udhayanidhi only listed out Vijay's failures. There was nothing insulting in speech. He didn't even name Trisha." DMK leader TKS Elangovan said.

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) had condemned Udhayanidhi's objectionable remarks and had written to the National Commission for Women (NCW) seeking action. 

The remarks were "deeply troubling and offensive", TVK wrote in the letter. 

TVK MLA Rhevanth Charan termed the comments as "disgusting" and "unacceptable". He accused the DMK leadership of lowering the political discourse and resorting to provocation. 

While addressing a protest rally on the Cauvery dispute, Udhyanidhi criticised Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, alleging that Tamil Nadu had not received a single drop of Cauvery water while the CM remained unconcerned. "He is only concerned with filing 'false cases' against the DMK," he said. 

While speaking at the event, he was interrupted by 'Trisha, Trisha' chants in between. Pausing his speech, Udhayanidhi smiled and, with a smirk on his face, made a remark which many pointed out as a "double meaning" statement. 

A clip of the incident had been circulating widely on social media. His remarks came amid longstanding social media speculation about the relationship between the two. 

As the chants continued, he said, “Whether the water reaches anywhere else or not, it should reach there,” later clarifying that he was referring to the Cauvery.

Reacting to the video, Charan said that it reveals DMK's declining standards. He also added that the protest had failed to gain traction and accused the party of turning to "cheap provocation" to attract attention on social media. 

"This is precisely why people of Tamil Nadu rejected you...Even by Arivalayam’s already abysmal standards, this is a new low," said Charan. 

In its complaint to NCW, TVK said that the language used by him normalises the objectification and verbal harassment of women in public spaces, "severely degrades the decorum expected of public figures". "It sets a dangerous precedent" for the treatment of women in public life, it said. 

TVK urged NCW to take formal cognisance of the speech and issue a notice seeking an unconditional public apology. It also called for action against the DMK leader for public obscenity and outraging the modesty of women. 

Meanwhile, taking to X, Tamil Nadu BJP chief spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy said Udhayanidhi's "double-meaning" remark is "disgusting, obscene, vulgar and shameful".

"Truly, even a rogue or thief who has a mother, wife, or daughter would not speak so vulgarly. No mother, wife, or daughter would forgive those who speak like that," wrote the BJP leader.