“You [CM Vijay] turned the Assembly itself into a place where reels happen, standing

Stalin responded to Vijay’s recent Assembly remarks on the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), recalling his arrest in 1976 and alleging that he was subjected to custodial torture during the Emergency.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay “must not talk about unnecessary controversies in the Assembly,” DMK president MK Stalin said on Thursday.

He also accused Vijay of using social media reels and publicity to divert attention from administrative failures. “You [CM Vijay] turned the Assembly itself into a place where reels happen, standing on the bridge we built and doing photoshoots, you are running the administration also, just like a cinema shooting.

Addressing Vijay as “Thambi Vijay”, Stalin said his struggle during the Emergency was part of the DMK’s history. “History can never be changed,” the former Tamil Nadu chief minister said. To hide your inefficient administration, you are posting various reels like this and cheating a whole generation,” Stalin said in a video on X.

He recalled that police subsequently went to the Karunanidhi residence in Gopalapuram to arrest him under MISA. He then asked the police to return and arrest Stalin after his arrival. Stalin said the DMK organised a major gathering at Marina Beach in 1976 to oppose the Emergency and protest against MISA. “The Union Government that was in power at that time, on 31st January 1976, dismissed the DMK government.

Stalin said he was away campaigning at the time. The very next second after dismissing the government, police came to the Gopalapuram house to arrest me under the MISA Act,” he said in his video. Veteran leader M Karunanidhi told the police that his son had gone out campaigning and would return the following day, according to Stalin. “When I came, he himself called the police and asked them to arrest me,” Stalin said, recounting the incident.