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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay is facing strong criticism from the Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) over a gesture he made while referring to former Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin’s detention during the Emergency under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA).
The DMK accused Vijay of mocking the facial stiffness Stalin reportedly developed as a result of police brutality following his detention during the Emergency. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], which extends external support to the government, also criticised the Chief Minister’s gesture.
Vijay made the gesture while replying to the demands for grants for the Police and Fire and Rescue Services departments in the Assembly on Monday. He departed from his prepared speech to attack the DMK during the debate.
“They (DMK) always say they have seen the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA). But we know the history of that MISA,” Vijay said, while placing his hand near his jaw.
The gesture drew an immediate response from the DMK. Party chief whip EV Velu said the Opposition had expected the Chief Minister to respond to issues raised during the debate rather than target Stalin.
“We expected the Chief Minister to answer the questions raised by the Leader of the Opposition. He used body language to demean DMK president MK Stalin,” Velu said.
Former minister TRB Rajaa defended Stalin’s account of his detention, saying the mark on his face was linked to the violence he allegedly faced in prison during the Emergency.
“What is on DMK president MK Stalin’s face is not merely a scar. It is the brave scar of a fighter who faced the repression of MISA imprisonment during the Emergency, when the voice of democracy was strangled by authoritarianism,” Rajaa said.
The controversy continued during the Assembly debate on Tuesday, when Minister Nirmal Kumar questioned the DMK’s account of Stalin’s arrest under MISA.
“People could have been arrested during the MISA period in connection with cases involving theft, snatching and offences against women, and not every case filed during the period could be attributed to MISA,” Nirmal told the Assembly.
“Stalin might have been arrested for making offensive remarks against former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. There is no record that he was arrested on MISA,” he added.
The dispute centres on one of the defining episodes of Stalin’s early political career and the DMK’s account of its opposition to the Emergency.
The Emergency was declared by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in June 1975. During the period, Opposition leaders were detained, press freedoms were curtailed and political dissent was severely restricted.
Enacted in 1971, MISA gave the government extensive powers of preventive detention and was widely used to detain political opponents during the Emergency. The law was repealed in 1977 after the Janata Party came to power.
The DMK government headed by then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi was dismissed by the Union government on January 31, 1976. Stalin, who was then a young DMK leader, was arrested shortly afterwards and taken to Chennai Central Prison.
According to accounts of his detention, Stalin was assaulted by prison officials. The incident subsequently became an important part of his political biography, and he has repeatedly referred to his Emergency-era imprisonment as a defining experience of his early political life.
The DMK has also cited the findings of the Ismail Commission in recounting the alleged violence against its leaders and cadres in Chennai Central Prison.
The commission, headed by Justice MM Ismail, was constituted to examine allegations of police excesses against prisoners at the prison during the Emergency.
CPI(M) state secretary P Shanmugam criticised the Chief Minister and called on TVK ministers to read the Ismail Commission report before commenting on Emergency-era arrests.
“Minister Nirmal Kumar’s claim that those arrested during the MISA period like anti-social elements was childish and an expression of ignorance,” Shanmugam said.
“Without knowing history, one should not throw mud at the DMK out of anger. During the Emergency, former Chief Minister Stalin was attacked by the police and his jaw was broken,” he added.
Shanmugam also described Vijay’s gesture as irresponsible and condemnable.
“It is irresponsible and condemnable for the Chief Minister himself to have spoken in a manner that mocks Stalin. Turning the Assembly into a place for personal attacks and to praise one’s own leader is unethical,” he said.
CPI(M) Central Committee member K Balakrishnan also criticised Vijay.
“By justifying the attack, the Chief Minister is mocking Stalin. Would he himself be able to withstand the same attack even for half an hour?” Balakrishnan asked.
Responding to the controversy, CM Vijay has said his gesture was not intentional.
"My body language, which inadvertently came across in between my response speech, 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," he said.