Udhayanidhi Stalin held for 'sexual remark' linking CM Vijay; freed on bail hours later
Former Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin was arrested following allegations of making sexually suggestive remarks about a female actor during a protest. He was released on bail shortly after, with his father, M.K. Stalin, condemning the arrest as a politically motivated attempt to prevent his participation in assembly proceedings.
Why it matters
The incident highlights escalating political tensions in Tamil Nadu between the DMK and the ruling TVK government, raising concerns about the use of legal action against political opponents.
CHENNAI/THANJAVUR: Former Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin was on Tuesday arrested for his alleged double entendre alluding to a popular female actor. He was released later in the evening on station bail.Udhayanidhi, TVK supporters said, had made a sexually loaded remark linking CM Joseph Vijay with an actress whose name the crowd was chanting at a Cauvery protest in Thanjavur Monday. Udhayanidhi denied the charge.On Tuesday morning, police knocked on the DMK politician's door at Neelankarai, Chennai. Before his lawyers could move Madras high court for anticipatory bail, Udhayanidhi was taken away in a police van for a seven-hour ride to Thanjavur where the complaint was filed by a TVK backer.He was charged under Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act and Sec 67 of the Information Technology Act for "promoting social enmity, harassment and electronic obscenity".
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