Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay intervened in the state Assembly after Forest Minister RV Ranjith Kumar referred to former Chief Minister and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi by name without using a customary honorific, triggering protests from opposition DMK legislators.

The incident occurred during Monday's Assembly proceedings. Vijay quickly acknowledged that the manner in which the late leader had been addressed was inappropriate and apologised on behalf of his minister, helping bring the disruption under control. Reported the incident on August 18.

The controversy erupted while Ranjith Kumar was speaking during a debate on demands for grants concerning the Health and Revenue departments. During his remarks, the minister discussed what he described as earlier election practices and referred to the controversial “Thirumangalam formula”.

He also claimed that money had been distributed to voters during previous elections in his Kancheepuram constituency and contrasted those allegations with the current government's election campaign. These were claims made by the minister during his Assembly speech.

During that argument, Ranjith Kumar referred to the former Chief Minister simply as “Karunanidhi”, without using expressions such as “Kalaignar” or “former Chief Minister”. DMK members immediately objected and protested over what they viewed as a breach of legislative decorum.

As the protests intensified, Chief Minister Vijay stepped in and stopped the minister's speech. He acknowledged the opposition's objection and apologised on Ranjith Kumar's behalf.

The intervention helped defuse the confrontation and allowed proceedings to resume. Reports said Vijay made clear that referring to a respected former Chief Minister in that manner was not appropriate in the House.

The episode also showed Vijay moving quickly to prevent a dispute over political language from developing into a prolonged confrontation between the government and the opposition.

Honorifics and formal titles carry particular political significance in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, where senior and former leaders are routinely referred to using respectful forms of address.

Karunanidhi, who served multiple terms as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and remained one of the DMK's most influential figures for decades, is widely referred to by supporters and political leaders as “Kalaignar”.

The DMK's objection therefore centred not merely on the minister mentioning Karunanidhi, but on the manner in which the former Chief Minister was addressed during official Assembly proceedings. Reports described the dispute as an issue of House decorum.

Following the Chief Minister's intervention, the immediate protest subsided and the Assembly returned to its scheduled debate. The incident briefly turned an otherwise policy-focused discussion into a political flashpoint, underscoring how references to former leaders continue to carry significant weight in Tamil Nadu politics.

For Vijay, the prompt apology helped prevent the dispute from escalating further. For the DMK, the protest reinforced its demand that Karunanidhi's political legacy and the conventions surrounding former chief ministers be respected inside the legislature.