Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin was forced to issue a clarification regarding his now-viral hand gesture made after the conclusion of seat-sharing talks between the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Indian National Congress.
On March 4, as Stalin stepped out after the talks, journalists asked if the negotiations had concluded. In response, he moved his right hand sideways in a quick slicing motion through the air, signalling that the discussions were “finished.” The clip quickly circulated widely on social media, with the DMK’s IT wing sharing the video with dramatic mass background music elevating their party chief.
The Chief Minister’s boast comes in the backdrop of the Nanguneri violence in which two persons were hacked to death. One of the deceased — John Mark — belonged to the Paraiyar community, categorised as a Scheduled Caste. The nine accused involved belong to the Thevar community. While the police have denied caste as a motive behind the brutal attack, ground reports and findings by activists contradict this claim.
According to a report by The Hindu, the accused were triggered by an act of Paraiyar assertion involving posters of ‘Manalmedu’ Shankar, a history-sheeter who was killed by the police in 2004. A section of Dalits in the Delta region revere Shankar and view him as a figure who resisted caste oppression. The report said that Shankar’s posters were put up around Nanguneri and along the highways to commemorate his death anniversary.
This allegedly prompted the accused to indiscriminately attack residents standing in front of a roadside teashop at Indra Colony near Perumpaththu on the night of Monday, March 2, 2026.
Leader of the Opposition and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) chief Edappadi K Palaniswami criticised the gesture and accused the Chief Minister of trivialising serious law and order issues.
Referring to recent violent incidents in Nanguneri and Sivaganga, Palaniswami said the Chief Minister was busy boasting about his viral hand signal instead of addressing attacks against Dalits. In a post on social media, he said that under the DMK government everything from law and order to women’s safety had come to an end.
“At a time when people’s lives are hanging by a thread like this, do you know what the Chief Minister, tasked with maintaining law and order, is up to? He’s busy bragging about how the hand signal he flashed saying ‘it’s over’ went viral.”
The LoP added: “Yes, Mr. @mkstalin sir….In your rule: Law and order is over! Women’s safety is over! Social justice is over! In short, the peace of Tamil Nadu’s people is over!”
He urged the Stalin-led DMK government to take stringent legal action against all those connected to the murder rampage that unfolded in Sivaganga’s Idaikkattur village, where a Dalit man was assaulted by five men.
Responding to the criticism while attending a family function of Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Tamil Nadu’s School Education Minister, Stalin said the gesture was spontaneous and simply indicated the successful conclusion of discussions with the Congress.
“We concluded talks with our alliance partner in a very good manner. When media persons asked whether everything was done, I made a gesture indicating that the talks were over. It was spontaneous,” he said.
The DMK and Congress concluded their seat-sharing agreement after a series of meetings. The Congress had initially demanded 45 seats but eventually agreed to contest 28 seats after prolonged negotiations.