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High drama unfolded at Tamil Nadu Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin's Neelankarai residence on Tuesday, August 4, as the police arrived to arrest him over his allegedly objectionable remarks involving actor Trisha.
On August 3, Udhayanidhi had addressed a protest gathering over the Cauvery issue. In a 22-minute speech, he criticised the government's handling of farmers' issues, water release, and the Mekedatu issue. When a section of the gathering at the protest chanted actor Trisha's name, Udhayanidhi made remarks that were allegedly sexually coloured, triggering criticism from political parties and women's rights groups.
The arrest on August 4 was marked by tense exchanges between police officers and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) functionaries.
How the events unfolded
Inside the residence, Udhayanidhi could be seen huddled with senior leaders of the DMK, wearing a serious expression as they discussed the situation. Seated around him were his brother-in-law Sabareesan, DMK leader NR Elango, former MLA Paranthaman, former ministers Ma Subramanian and KN Nehru, among others. While tense discussions unfolded in the room, multiple leaders received calls on their phones, in an apparent effort to delay or prevent the arrest.
The phone calls arrived for the police officers too, who, seated awkwardly between senior DMK leaders, seemed to be awaiting further instructions before the arrest.
Meanwhile, DMK cadres who had gathered at the residence began raising slogans. Sabareesan then hurried to rein them in, gesturing for silence and shaking his head in disapproval.
The drama and anticipation was not limited to Udhayanidhi's residence. As soon as the police arrived to take Udhayanidhi, DMK moved the Madras High Court seeking urgent intervention against the arrest. However, the court asked them to file a petition.
The party’s senior leaders tried everything to delay the arrest, with Udhayanidhi even choosing to take a shower right before he was taken into custody. The officers made an attempt to take him while he was bathing, which Ma Subramanian thwarted by threatening to record a video. He warned the cops, "If you take him while he is bathing, I will record a video. It will be a human rights violation."
Both Ma Subramanian and Udhayanidhi's wife, Kiruthiga, urged the officers to give him some more time. "Give us just 10 minutes. How can Udhayanidhi come out without finishing his morning chores?" they told the police.
"How many '10 minutes' will you keep asking for?" a police officer then replied, before finally taking the DMK leader into custody.
Sabareesan, watching all of the party’s delaying tactics fail, continued to shake his head in disapproval, as Udhayanidhi was made to climb into a police van and taken to the Thanjavur East police station.
‘TVK diverting attention’
Speaking to the media near his residence soon after he was taken into custody, Udhayanidhi denied making the alleged remarks and accused the government of filing a false case to divert attention from key public issues.
He said, “I spoke for close to 22 minutes at the event. I spoke about how this government is cheating the farmers, how they haven’t fulfilled their electoral promises or the promises given to farmers. This spineless, cowardly government is not opposing anything including the Mekedatu issue. I said that the Chief Minister should talk with the farmers and that our leader will stand with the farmers. After hiding all of these... like I said yesterday at the protest, this TVK government is only using diversion tactics. To divert us from any problems, the dummy Chief Minister here and all the ministers post Reels. They are living inside Reels. I condemned this in my speech. To divert attention from that, action is being taken against me for something I didn’t say. They have put a fake case and are trying to arrest me. I will not be afraid of these things.”
The controversy prompted sharp reactions from the opposition. BJP Tamil Nadu vice-president Narayanan Thirupathy described the alleged remarks as “disgusting, obscene, vulgar, and shameful” and demanded immediate legal action against Udhayanidhi, stating that such action would demonstrate the government's commitment to protecting the dignity of women.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) national spokesperson Pazha Selvakumar also approached the National Commission for Women (NCW), urging it to take cognisance of the speech, seek an explanation and an unconditional public apology, and direct authorities to register a case under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
He has reportedly been booked under Sections 196, 192, 352, 79, 296(b), 61 and 351(2) of the BNS, Section 4 of the TNPHW Act, and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.