Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 4 : Tamil Nadu police have booked Opposition Leader Udhayanidhi Stalin under nine sections, including allegations that he insulted the modesty of a woman, following an FIR against him over his alleged "derogatory" remarks against Chief Minister Vijay and actor Trisha.
He has been arrested by Thanjavur East Police and is being taken to Thanjavur. Responding to the police action, Udayanidhi termed it a 'comedy'.
Speaking to reporters following his detention, Udhayanidhi denied making any derogatory remarks and said the controversy was the result of edited and misleading content being circulated.
"They have propagated fake news by using 'Cut, Copy, Paste' to claim I said something I never said. I am not the kind of person to be intimidated by all this. I will face it legally," Udhayanidhi Stalin said.
Based on the complaint, Police filed a case against the DMK leader under Sections 196 (Promoting Enmity Between Groups),192(Provoking a Riot), 352(Intentional Insult to Provoke Breach of Peace), 79 (Insulting the Modesty of a Woman), 296(b) (Obscene Words in Public Places), 61(Criminal Conspiracy) & 351(2) (Criminal Intimidation) BNS, 4 of TN Prohibition of Harassment of Woman (Amendment) Act, 2002 and 67 of the IT Act.
The complaint was filed by the women's wing of TVK at the Thanjavur police station on Monday.
Following the FIR, Udhayanidhi Stalin was on Tuesday morning detained by State police from his Chennai residence.
DMK MP Kanimozhi called the police action "blatant cowardice" and an "act of revenge".
"If the government wants to personally take revenge on the Opposition Leader, Thiru. @Udhaystalin ,let it file a case. Let the court deliver its verdict. But, lacking the courage to confront the DMK as an opposition party, for the government to resort to such oppressive tactics is against the law. Arresting the Opposition Leader in this way, solely to prevent him from participating in the Assembly session starting tomorrow, is blatant cowardice," she said in a post on X.
The controversy stems from Udhayanidhi Stalin's speech at a public meeting in Thanjavur on the Cauvery water dispute, where he was interrupted by sections of the crowd chanting "Trisha, Trisha." Pausing briefly, he allegedly remarked, "Whether the water reaches anywhere else or not, it should reach there," before clarifying that he was referring to the Cauvery water.