Sanatana, Sasikala, Trisha: Udhayanidhi's Stalingrad?

Published 4 August 2026 · local

Tamil Nadu Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin is in police custody after a viral speech in Thanjavur triggered outrage. Addressing a protest over the

Tamil Nadu Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin is in police custody after a viral speech in Thanjavur triggered outrage. Addressing a protest over the Cauvery water dispute and the Mekedatu project, the DMK leader turned chants of actor Trisha Krishnan's name into a crude double entendre that critics described as a sexual innuendo. The actress is a friend of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay. Every controversy risks becoming another Stalingrad for Udhayanidhi. They raise the political cost of his rhetoric. This was not a one-off. Critics argue Udhayanidhi has repeatedly invoked women and the private lives of political rivals in public attacks. Udhaynidhi has repeatedly used language that critics label misogynistic or personally invasive. Read Full Story Police detained Udhauanidhi Stalin from his Chennai residence on Tuesday morning following a complaint by the TVK, the ruling party of Tamil Nadu. He has been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, and the Information Technology Act. Udhayanidhi has maintained he said nothing wrong and will fight the case in court. WHAT DID UDHAYANIDHI SAY THAT CAUSED UPROAR The sequence at the protest over the Cauvery dispute was straightforward until the interruption. At the event, Udhayanidhi criticised Vijay as a "dummy CM", accused ministers of making Reels while Cauvery Delta farmers suffered, and charged that the Chief Minister cared more about filing "false cases" against the DMK than securing water from the disputed river.

When sections of the crowd began chanting, "Trisha, Trisha", the Leader of the Opposition paused, smirked, and said words to the effect of whether water comes or not, "That water should come." Then he paused and said that he meant the Cauvery. The video spread rapidly. TVK leaders called the remark "disgusting" and "a new low". The formal complaint lodged by TVK led to the FIR and detention of the DMK leader. This is not an isolated episode. Udhayanidhi's public record contains a pattern of remarks that opponents say drag women and the private lives of rivals into political combat. From campaign trails to the Assembly floor and social media, Udhaynidhi has repeatedly used language that critics label misogynistic or personally invasive, even as his party positions itself as a champion of social justice and women's empowerment. The latest Trisha episode sits at the end of that continuum. THE 2021 SASIKALA REMARK During the 2021 Assembly election campaign, Udhayanidhi targeted the then Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and AIADMK strongwoman VK Sasikala. He told a rally that Palaniswami had "crawled like a dead body" to touch Sasikala's feet. AIADMK leaders condemned the language as derogatory toward a woman and filed a defamation case. The episode was one of the first major controversies after he entered electoral politics. STALIN JR's ATTACK ON PERSONAL LIFE OF RIVALS AFTER TVK TOOK OFFICE After Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam formed the government, Udhayanidhi returned to personal territory.