Tamil Nadu Chief Minister (CM) Vijay on Monday issued a stern warning in the state assembly, saying he would not endure derogatory or abusive remarks against females. He said political criticism may be fierce but should never cross the line into personal abuse.

The actor-turned-politician said females had played a pivotal role in his political success and underlined that he would not tolerate obscene or offensive language directed at them.

Women must not be targeted: CM Vijay

Vijay went on to say that freedom of expression was an individual right, but urged people to exercise it responsibly.

He asserted, “Speech is a personal right for everyone. How one is using freedom of expression, we have to think about it,” urging people not to demean others, particularly women, for political reasons.

His remarks came days after the Leader of Opposition (LoP) of the state and former minister Udhayanidhi Stalin allegedly made double-meaning remarks about actor Trisha during a Cauvery River protest meeting in August this year.

The DMK has maintained that the comment was edited maliciously and was propagated with a false narrative. CM Vijay said Tamil Nadu had recently seen an uptick in alleged obscene and malicious speech, particularly remarks involving women carrying double or triple meaning.

He opined, “People are watching whoever speaks about women in a defamatory way, in double and triple meaning.” He then appealed to the general public to consider how they would reach if similar remarks were directed at women belonging to their own families.

He added, “We have the same women as a mother and sister at home. It would be better if you keep this in mind and speak properly,” adding that the law would come down heavily on the ones making obscene or defamatory remarks against women.

“Women the main reason behind my political victory”: Vijay

The 53-year-old, who is serving his first term as the state’s CM, said women were central to his political journey and made his position on abusive language unequivocal. He further said that political opponents were free to launch sharp criticism, but insisted that such criticism should not descend into defamatory comments targeting women.

During this, he also referred to the treatment of the state’s former CM J Jayalalithaa in the state assembly, alleging she had been humiliated by the Opposition in the past. He said, “We are hearing that former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was humiliated in the same Assembly by the same Opposition. Recently, a few are speaking in double meaning. Double meaning, triple meaning is being watched by people.”

Stalin hits back at Vijay

Addressing the media after the Assembly proceedings, Udhayanidhi Stalin accused Vijay of making several allegations against the DMK without providing evidence.

He said the Opposition had listened quietly while Vijay spoke about the police department during the first 11 minutes of his reply, but alleged that the CM subsequently levelled ‘baseless allegations’ against the DMK.

Stalin said, “We asked the Speaker to give us an opportunity. The Chief Minister made many false allegations, but we were not given an opportunity to respond.” He maintained that allegations alone did not suffice and insisted that claims made against the Opposition had to be backed by evidence.