Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay has criticised DMK chief and former Chief Minister MK Stalin over his remarks about TVK candidate Sathyabhama during a campaign meeting in Dharapuram, triggering a political row ahead of the Assembly by-election.
Stalin referred to Sathyabhama as “Somersault Bhama” while questioning her switch from the AIADMK to the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). The remarks drew sharp criticism from the ruling party, which accused the DMK leader of body-shaming the woman Dalit candidate and demanded an apology.
Reacting to the comments, Vijay described Stalin’s remarks as uncivilised and accused the DMK of making derogatory statements about women.
“Under the guise of a campaign public meeting for the Dharapuram constituency by-election, Mr Stalin, the leader of the evil force that is the DMK, has conducted a defamatory and utterly uncivilized gathering. Regarding our Dharapuram constituency candidate, Sister Mrs Sathiyabama, he has resorted to caricature mockery and spoken in the most indecent manner, deriving perverse pleasure from it,” Vijay wrote in a post on X.
He further accused the DMK of repeatedly making objectionable remarks about women and said voters would respond to the comments.
“These evil forces, who are experts at speaking obscenely about women, and that too, with women seated right beside them, will receive a fitting retort from the people of Tamil Nadu and the people of the Dharapuram constituency,” he said.
Concluding his statement, Vijay added: “As the son, brother, and younger sibling of Tamil Nadu’s women, I convey my strongest condemnation to this evil force, the DMK, which continues to speak obscenely about women.”
What Did Stalin Say About Sathyabhama?
Stalin made the remarks while campaigning in Dharapuram, where he accused the ruling TVK of horse-trading and engineering a split in the AIADMK.
Sathyabhama had won the Dharapuram Assembly seat as an AIADMK candidate in the recent Assembly election. She resigned from the seat weeks later and joined the TVK. She is now contesting the by-election as the ruling party’s candidate.
Questioning her political switch and referring to allegations of money being involved, Stalin said, “You people now call their candidate who acted against truth as Suitcase-Bhama. There is also another name – Somersault Bhama. I don’t know how she did the somersault with that figure.”
The reference to Sathyabhama’s physical appearance prompted a strong response from the TVK, with party leaders accusing Stalin of targeting her appearance rather than limiting his criticism to her political decisions.
TVK Demands Apology From DMK Chief
TVK leader and Health Minister Arun Raj also accused Stalin of body-shaming Sathyabhama, saying the remark insulted women and the Dalit community. The party has called on the DMK chief to apologise for his comments.
The controversy has added to tensions between the DMK and the TVK ahead of the Dharapuram by-election, with the candidate’s switch from the AIADMK emerging as a key point of political contention.
The TVK has denied allegations of horse-trading, maintaining that elected legislators have the right to resign and join another party. It has argued that such a move does not, by itself, attract disqualification under the anti-defection law.
