Chennai, A DMK leader here has been booked for making alleged defamatory remarks against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, police said on Tuesday.
The ruling TVK lashed out at the opposition party, alleging that its political platforms have become “disgusting.”
The case has been registered against DMK Chennai Corporation ward councillor Sudha Deenadayalan, who allegedly made the remarks, and DMK functionary Muralidharan. TVK general secretary Aadhav Arjuna lashed out at the DMK saying it converted political platforms to launch personal attacks against opponents. The ruling party responded saying senior party leaders Kanimozhi and P K Sekar Babu pulled up the woman councillor after the programme. Deenadayalan’s comments were made in the presence of DMK deputy general secretary and MP Kanimozhi, with former state minister Sekar Babu and Chennai Mayor R Priya having a hearty laugh, as seen in visuals. The comments triggered an intense political row with the ruling TVK lashing out at the DMK for stooping to a political low. “The woman speaker has stooped to a political low while Mayor Priya, who held a responsible position, is laughing and enjoying it. Mrs Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, who is the DMK deputy general secretary, is keeping her head down and remaining silent.
Deenadayalan, who serves as the party’s Chennai East District Women’s Wing Organiser, triggered the controversy targeting the chief minister allegedly for criticising DMK president M K Stalin and addressed him in singular and passed derogatory remarks during the party event on October 7, police said.
The latter organised the party event event here, police said. Aadhav Arjuna, Tamil Nadu Minister for Public Works and Sports Development, strongly condemned the opposition party, saying “the DMK is mired in ugly, vile language” and that their political platforms have become “disgusting”. At the event, Kanimozhi addressed the foundational principles of the Dravidian movement, outlining the core identity of the DMK, and invoked the party’s ideological heritage highlighting three central figures – social reformer “Periyar” EV Ramasamy, late chief minister C N Annadurai and former CM M Karunanidhi to convey that the DMK’s political identity is deeply entrenched and does not require validation or fear competition from newly formed parties.
On the one hand, she did not condemn the speaker, but on the other hand, the standard of today’s DMK dais is such that Mrs Kanimozhi herself is unable to listen to the speeches of her own party members and bows her head,” Arjuna said.
