‘Not A Cinema Set’: DMK Slams Tamil Nadu CM Vijay After He Enacts Stalin’s Viral Hand Gesture In Assembly | India News

Last Updated:June 24, 2026, 13:48 IST

Tamil Nadu CM Joseph Vijay mimics MK Stalin’s hand gesture in Assembly. DMK slams his speech and called it scripted theatrics.

CM Vijay concluded his reply to the Motion of Thanks on the Governor’s Address with Stalin’s viral hand gesture.

A fresh war of words has erupted between the ruling TVK government and the opposition DMK in Tamil Nadu after Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay recreated former chief minister MK Stalin’s viral hand-slashing gesture during a speech in the Assembly. This drew massive flak from the opposition.

Vijay concluded his reply to the Motion of Thanks on the Governor’s Address with the hand gesture. With DMK members having already staged a walkout from the House, the chief minister turned to Speaker JCD Prabhakar and sought permission to make a hand gesture that had become closely associated with Stalin earlier this year.

“I wanted to enact this little bit in the presence of the DMK members. But they have all walked out. Can I make the gesture, with your permission?” Vijay asked. After the Speaker agreed, the chief minister smiled and made a downward hand-slashing motion, prompting loud desk-thumping from treasury bench members.

The gesture immediately drew attention because of its resemblance to one made by Stalin in March after the DMK finalised its seat-sharing agreement with the Congress. The then chief minister had later clarified that the gesture symbolised the successful conclusion of alliance talks and subsequently repeated it in public appearances.

Before making the gesture, Vijay launched a broadside against the DMK and Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin. Referring to criticism levelled by Udhayanidhi a day earlier over the state’s law-and-order situation, Vijay remarked, “Evils, evils-nu devils pesa koodathu” (devils should not speak about evils).

The comment was seen as a response to Udhayanidhi’s statement in the Assembly on Monday that “to remain silent in the face of evil is itself a form of evil.”

DMK Reacts

The DMK hit back strongly, accusing Vijay of reducing Assembly proceedings to a theatrical performance. In a sharply worded statement, the party said the chief minister had used his reply to the Governor’s Address to level “scripted allegations” instead of addressing pressing public concerns.

The opposition criticised the Speaker for allegedly allowing Vijay to deliver his speech without interruption, comparing the proceedings to a film shoot rather than a legislative debate.

“Treating the Assembly’s live cameras as cinema cameras, he delivered his speech as though it were a film shoot,” the DMK said, adding that the Speaker’s conduct was inappropriate.

The party further alleged that Vijay’s speech lacked substantive responses on key issues including power cuts, farmers’ concerns, law and order, and the implementation of electoral promises.

The DMK also objected to Vijay’s remarks suggesting that farmers’ protests were being instigated by opposition parties, calling the comments insulting to the farming community.

In a personal swipe, the opposition said Vijay should stop behaving like “Actor Vijay” and instead conduct himself as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

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