Udhayanidhi Stalin arrested, freed after political storm over obscene remarks

In a day of high drama and swift political developments, former Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister and Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin was first arrested and then released after nearly four hours on Tuesday, 4 August, over an alleged remark alluding to actor Trisha and insulting her modesty.

Chaotic scenes were witnessed outside Udhayanidhi's house in Chennai as DMK cadres gathered in large numbers to prevent his arrest by a police team from Thanjavur.

The DMK moved the Madras High Court seeking anticipatory bail. following the Madras High Court's intervention.

During the hearing, Advocate General P.S. Raman informed the court that the state had no intention of seeking Udhayanidhi's judicial remand and only wanted to question him in connection with the case before releasing him on station bail.

The High Court then directed the Tamil Nadu Police to release the DMK leader after completing his questioning and asked him to cooperate with the investigation whenever required.

Before being escorted away, Udhayanidhi denied referring to anyone.

"Did I mention anyone's name except the chief minister's? Then why do you think this is happening? Let the court decide," he told reporters.

The controversy stems from a demonstration led by Udhayanidhi in Thanjavur on 3 August regarding the Cauvery water dispute. During the protest, the DMK demanded that the TVK-led government take decisive steps to stop Karnataka's proposed Mekedatu reservoir project, waive farmers' loans entirely, and officially declare the delta districts as drought-affected.

Udhayanidhi also criticised the CM's handling of the water dispute. At that point, a section of the crowd interrupted him by chanting the name of actor Trisha. Pausing briefly, Udhayanidhi allegedly made a double-meaning remark, triggering an avalanche of nationwide condemnation.

The ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) also filed complaints with the Thanjavur police and the National Commission for Women (NCW).

In her police complaint, TVK's Thanjavur central district women's wing organiser S. Bairavi alleged that Udhayanidhi intentionally made an offensive remark after the crowd chanted the actor's name, causing mental agony to Trisha and women in general. She also accused the DMK's IT wing of circulating a video of the incident on social media.

Separately, TVK national spokesperson Pazha Selvakumar approached the NCW, seeking a notice to Udhayanidhi and demanding an unconditional public apology.

Police booked him under multiple provisions, including charges relating to the use of obscene words, insulting the modesty of a woman, promoting enmity, provocation with intent to cause a riot, criminal intimidation and provisions of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act.

The arrest triggered protests by DMK workers across Tamil Nadu, with party cadres staging road blockades and demonstrations condemning the police action. DMK president M.K. Stalin convened a meeting of senior leaders at the party headquarters to discuss the party's response ahead of the Assembly session beginning on August 5.

M.K. Stalin accused the TVK government of "arrogance" and hit out at the alleged high-handedness in the arrest of Udhayanidhi.

In a strongly worded statement, Stalin warned that "arrogance leads to destruction, and continuous arrogance will accelerate destruction", while demanding the immediate release of all DMK cadres detained across the state.