Tamil Nadu Police on July 20 arrested Vilathikulam DMK MLA G.V. Markandayan for allegedly making derogatory and threatening remarks against Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay during a public meeting organised by the Kovilpatti DMK unit. The legislator was later remanded to 15 days’ judicial custody and lodged in Palayamkottai Central Prison in Tirunelveli. The arrest has triggered a political confrontation, with the DMK alleging political vendetta while the ruling TVK government defended the police action.
According to police, the case stems from a speech delivered by Markandayan on July 18 at a DMK public meeting in Kovilpatti. Responding to a sarcastic remark allegedly made by Chief Minister Joseph Vijay against Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin, the DMK MLA allegedly said: “Shame on the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Do you think we are clowns? We will deal with you in the Assembly. Convene the Assembly; if you do, we will not let you leave without breaking your bones.”
Based on a complaint lodged by Balasubramani, the TVK North Kovilpatti District Advocates’ Wing leader, the Thoothukudi District Crime Branch registered a case and arrested Markandayan at around 6.30 a.m. on July 20.
During the arrest, Markandayan reportedly argued that a sitting MLA could not be arrested without the prior sanction of the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker. He resisted the police action for some time before being taken to the Superintendent of Police’s office for questioning.
Reacting to the controversy, Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar clarified that prior permission from the Speaker is not required for the arrest of an MLA for offences allegedly committed outside the Assembly premises. He stated that the police had acted within the Assembly Rules and formally informed him immediately after the arrest, as required under procedure.
Following the arrest, several DMK leaders, including MLA Anitha Radhakrishnan, former Minister Geetha Jeevan and Kovilpatti MLA Karunanithi, gathered outside the SP’s office and staged a protest demanding Markandayan’s immediate release.
DMK president M.K. Stalin condemned the arrest, alleging that the TVK government was functioning without democratic norms. He accused the government of targeting former DMK ministers, MLAs and social media supporters for criticising its functioning. DMK Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi also criticised the arrest.
Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagendran criticised the police action and questioned the Speaker’s interpretation of the Assembly Rules. He said it was a violation of parliamentary conventions for the Speaker to state that his permission was unnecessary for the arrest of an MLA.
After the arrest, Markandayan’s son, Akshay, alleged that his father was subjected to nearly 13 hours of questioning and intimidation while in police custody. He claimed that his father had been threatened to make statements favourable to the ruling party.
Akshay also took a personal swipe at Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, remarking that “my father is with me”, in an apparent reference to Vijay’s family. Incidentally, during the previous DMK government, Akshay himself had been detained at Madurai airport after allegedly making remarks against then Chief Minister M.K. Stalin but was later released. He had also raised slogans against a High Court judge over an order permitting the lighting of a lamp atop Thiruparankundram Hill.
The arrest comes a month after another senior DMK legislator, Thiruchendur MLA Anitha Radhakrishnan, was arrested over a controversial speech delivered at Authoor in Thoothukudi district on June 20, 2026, in which he allegedly made disparaging personal remarks about Chief Minister Joseph Vijay’s film background and personal life.
Defending Markandayan, Anitha Radhakrishnan questioned why no action had been taken when TVK Minister Adhav Arjuna had allegedly described M.K. Stalin as a “foolish Chief Minister”. He also criticised the police for arresting Markandayan early in the morning without prior notice.
Responding to the criticism, Tamil Nadu Law Minister R. Nirmalkumar said the arrest was based on the MLA’s allegedly defamatory and threatening speech against the Chief Minister. He argued that threatening to assault the Chief Minister constituted a law-and-order issue and recalled that during the previous DMK government, several individuals had faced stringent legal action, including under the Goondas Act, for posts critical of former Chief Minister Stalin and his family. He maintained that if an elected representative publicly threatened the Chief Minister, police action was legally justified to prevent any escalation.
Critics, however, alleged that successive governments in Tamil Nadu had selectively acted against political opponents while failing to take similar action over threatening or abusive speeches directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP leaders and RSS workers. They argued that both the previous DMK government and the present TVK government had shown little tolerance towards political criticism, resulting in selective enforcement of the law.
Critics argue that when politicians indulge in such rhetoric, it creates an unnecessary cycle of political action and reaction. Police arrests become the news, while both parties amplify their respective narratives through the media, keeping the issue in public discourse for an extended period. They contend that this serves as a smokescreen, diverting attention from valid and substantive criticism, degrading public discourse, and promoting personal political agendas over the welfare of the people.
