Police seize Udayanidhi Stalin over Tirunavur statement, DMK alleges political motive

On August 4, senior DMK leader M.K. Stalin addressed the Legislative Assembly, fiercely criticizing the police operation that resulted in the arrest of opposition stalwart Udayanidhi Stalin.

Stalin claimed the TVK administration, led by Chief Minister Vijay, is resorting to law‑enforcement action to distract voters from its perceived inability to resolve the Cauvery water dispute.

He recalled that Udayanidhi had repeatedly interrogated the government on why Tamil Nadu was not receiving its rightful share of Cauvery water and why the state had not blocked Karnataka’s planned Mekedatu reservoir.

The chief minister’s office, Stalin argued, failed to allay the anxieties of the farming community during recent grievance sessions.

According to the DMK chief, a police squad arrived at Udayanidhi’s Chennai residence early Tuesday, took him into custody, and transferred him to Tirunavur, charging him under a case stemming from a statement he allegedly made at a DMK protest.

Stalin suggested the arrest’s timing was no coincidence, as it occurred just before the budget session set to begin on Wednesday, thereby denying the opposition a voice in crucial financial deliberations.

The detention triggered a wave of protests by DMK supporters across Tamil Nadu, while the state government informed the Madras High Court that the leader would be released after interrogation.

Stalin welcomed the High Court’s directive to free Udayanidhi after questioning, calling it a rebuke to the TVK government’s purported authoritarian streak.

He urged the immediate release of DMK activists arrested in the wake of the protests and warned that any administration that relies on intimidation risks its own political collapse.