Chennai: Senior DMK leaders A Raja and P K Sekar Babu, along with party MLA Vasantham Karthikeyan, have been booked by police over alleged derogatory remarks against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay during protests organised by the party.

The cases were registered in different parts of Tamil Nadu following the DMK’s statewide demonstrations against Vijay’s recent remarks on party president M K Stalin’s detention under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the Emergency.

Cases against Sekar Babu and A Raja

A case was registered at B1 North Beach Police Station against Sekar Babu, the DMK Harbour MLA and Chennai East district secretary, following a complaint alleging that he made derogatory remarks against the chief minister during the protest.

Police also booked DMK deputy general secretary A Raja based on a complaint filed by TVK functionary Karthik. The complaint alleged that Raja made derogatory remarks against Energy Resources and Law Minister R Nirmal Kumar during a protest against Vijay’s Assembly speech.

Raja had challenged the ruling TVK to register a case against him. He also referred to the Congress and BJP leaders having acknowledged Stalin’s contribution and his arrest under MISA during the Emergency.

DMK MLA Vasantham Karthikeyan also booked

The Kallakurichi police registered a case against Rishivandhiyam MLA Vasantham Karthikeyan for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Vijay.

The cases came after the DMK launched protests across Tamil Nadu over the chief minister’s comments about Stalin’s detention under MISA and his gestures while speaking about the issue in the Assembly.

What did Vijay say about Stalin’s MISA arrest?

During the recently concluded Assembly session, Vijay made corruption allegations against the DMK and referred to Stalin’s arrest under MISA during the 1975–77 Emergency. His jaw gestures while making the remarks drew an immediate reaction from DMK members in the House.

The remarks later triggered a political dispute over whether Stalin was actually detained under MISA.

Law Minister R Nirmal Kumar defended the chief minister’s remarks and questioned the DMK’s long-standing account of Stalin’s detention during the Emergency.

Speaking to reporters in Madurai after inspecting preparations for the Meenakshi Amman Temple consecration ceremony, Kumar said there was no official detention order copy to substantiate Stalin’s claim of having been detained under MISA.

“No detention copy, no MISA arrest,” Kumar said.

He questioned whether Stalin or the DMK possessed a detention order and argued that a formal document would exist if someone had been arrested under MISA.

“The fundamental question is whether he was detained under MISA or not,” Kumar said.

The dispute over Stalin’s Emergency-era detention has since become the backdrop to the DMK’s protests and the police cases against its leaders.

With PTI inputs