DMK Supremo MK Stalin on Saturday launched a verbal attack on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister (CM) C Joseph Vijay, accusing him of treating the state Assembly like a ‘cinema set’ and focusing on delivering ‘punch dialogues’ rather than addressing the concerns of the commoners.

Speaking at a DMK-led executive meeting, the former CM of the state also alleged that the Vijay-led TVK government had been renaming schemes introduced during the DMK’s tenure. News agency ANI reported his remarks, which come amid an increasingly heated political contest between the DMK and the TVK. 

Stalin was quoted as saying, “The present Chief Minister is busy changing the names of all the schemes we introduced. He is treating the Legislative Assembly like a cinema set and delivering punch dialogues.” 

He further said the DMK remained connected to people’s everyday lives irrespective of electoral outcomes. 

“DMK has lost just one election”: Stalin

Stalin said the DMK should view its defeat in the Tamil Nadu 2026 Assembly polls as an opportunity to reassess its strategy and prepare for the future. He opined, “We have only lost an election,” adding that the party’s political engagement with the general public would continue. 

His further comments also referred to CM Vijay’s conduct in the Assembly, which had earlier drawn considerable attention on social media. During an Assembly session in June this year, the DMK staged a walkout. Subsequently, CM Vijay sought permission from Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar to end his speech with a dramatic gesture analogous to the one associated with Stalin. 

Parts of CM Vijay’s speech broke the internet, with particular attention focusing on the final moments. After noting that the people for whom he had intended the gesture had already walked out, Vijay asked whether he could still perform it. 

After receiving the Speaker’s nod, he smiled and made a dramatic hand gesture signifying ‘it’s over.’

DMK MLAs reject Vijay’s free car offer

The political sparring continued on Friday, when Tamil Nadu Leader of Opposition (LoP) Udhayanidhi Stalin said all 59 DMK legislators had decided not to accept Vijay’s reported offer of free cars to MLAs, news agency ANI reported.

LoP Stalin argued that the government had repeatedly claimed that Tamil Nadu was facing a debt burden and questioned the rationale behind the proposal.

“Since the TVK government has been saying from day one after assuming power that the government is in debt, all 59 DMK MLAs have decided not to avail this offer,” he said.