MK Stalin addressed Vijay’s controversial Assembly gesture, recalled his MISA detention and urged lawmakers to protect legislative decorum.

DMK president and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has broken his silence over Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s controversial “jaw gesture” in the Legislative Assembly, recalling the alleged physical abuse he suffered while imprisoned during the Emergency.

In a nearly 10-minute video posted on X, Stalin said Vijay’s reference to his detention under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act was factually correct. He described his injured jaw as a permanent “brave scar” from a painful chapter in political history and said the experience could not be erased by alternate narratives.

The controversy erupted during a heated Assembly exchange on September 7, when Vijay touched or knocked his jaw while speaking about Stalin’s MISA detention. DMK members protested immediately, triggering disorder in the House. Vijay later said the gesture was spontaneous and unintentional.

Stalin said his arrest followed the dismissal of the DMK government on January 31, 1976, during the Emergency. He recalled that his father and then-Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had organised a major meeting at Chennai’s Marina Beach opposing the Emergency and criticising MISA.

According to Stalin, police arrived at the family’s Gopalapuram residence after the government’s dismissal, but he was away campaigning. Karunanidhi reportedly assured officers that his son would return the following day and asked them to come back to arrest him.

Stalin alleged that political detainees were kept in deeply unhygienic conditions at Chennai Central Prison. He claimed that several prisoners were confined inside a small room, forced to use a single container as a toilet and prevented from sleeping at night.

He further alleged that policemen beat prisoners with batons and trampled them with boots. Stalin said life-convict inmates were also made to attack DMK detainees. These claims formed the central part of his response to the Assembly controversy.

Stalin said fellow DMK leader and former parliamentarian Chitti Babu died following injuries suffered in prison. He also maintained that his own jawbone was fractured during the alleged assault and that he continues to carry scars from the incident.

Referring directly to Vijay’s gesture, Stalin said the Chief Minister’s indication of an injury to the jaw matched what had happened to him. He argued that the physical consequences of his detention were part of documented political history.

“Fictional accounts cannot erase history,” Stalin said, urging those questioning the DMK’s version to examine archival material available in the Legislative Assembly library.

He added that resisting oppression and accepting its consequences had been part of the DMK’s political legacy since the time of party founder CN Annadurai.

Vijay had attempted to defuse the row on September 8, saying his body language was involuntary, accidental and spontaneous. He said it was not intended to personally insult Stalin or hurt anyone’s feelings.

Stalin also criticised Vijay for reviving corruption accusations connected to the Sarkaria Commission report. He described the allegations as politically motivated claims promoted by people who had longstanding grievances against Karunanidhi.

The DMK chief also responded to references made by the ruling TVK to recent Enforcement Directorate investigations. He accused the central agency of being used politically and claimed that a large majority of its cases fail to withstand judicial scrutiny.

Stalin questioned why such accusations were being framed as political conclusions during debates in the legislature. He called on elected representatives to focus on evidence, public policy and the established standards of parliamentary conduct.

The former Chief Minister said Tamil Nadu’s Assembly had been shaped by several respected leaders and should retain its tradition of meaningful debate. He urged members to discuss law and order, welfare programmes and the state’s rights instead of creating avoidable personal controversies.

Expanding his criticism of the state government, Stalin targeted the decision to cancel the Parandur Airport project. He claimed the move could set back Tamil Nadu’s industrial development by 15 years, highlighting infrastructure and investment as issues the opposition would continue to raise.

He said electoral defeat did not reduce the DMK’s responsibility towards the people. Whether in government or opposition, the party would continue fighting for Tamil Nadu’s rights, economic growth and public welfare, he added.

Stalin’s statement sought to close the debate over the jaw gesture while shifting attention towards the historical context of his imprisonment and the DMK’s current political agenda.

The episode has nevertheless intensified the rivalry between the ruling TVK and the opposition DMK. With both leaders now placing their versions on record, the controversy is likely to remain part of Tamil Nadu’s wider debate over political history, Assembly conduct and the use of personal references in legislative exchanges.