‘What You Said Is True’: Stalin Recalls MISA Ordeal, TVK Challenges Claims

DMK president M K Stalin on Thursday responded to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s MISA jibe and a “jaw gesture” in the Assembly by recalling the alleged physical abuse he faced during his Emergency-era imprisonment, prompting the ruling TVK to demand documentary proof of his detention.

In a nearly 10-minute video message posted on X, Stalin said Vijay was correct about his MISA history, but criticised him for raising decades-old corruption allegations against the former DMK government based on the Sarkaria Commission report.

“Brother Vijay, what you said is true; it is not a lie,” Stalin said, recalling his arrest on January 31, 1976, after the Union government dismissed the DMK government following M Karunanidhi’s opposition to the Emergency and MISA.

Stalin alleged that he was subjected to severe abuse inside Chennai Central prison, claiming he was kept in overcrowded and unhygienic conditions and beaten by police and other inmates. He said the assaults fractured his jaw and led to the death of his colleague Chitti Babu.

Stalin described the injury as a “brave scar” of history and said fictional accounts could not erase what happened.

The remarks drew a sharp response from the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). Its IT Wing demanded that Stalin produce official records, including a MISA detention order or prison documentation, to substantiate his claims.

The TVK IT Wing alleged that Stalin’s video was an “engineered attempt” to divert attention from governance issues and accused him of attempting to revive a “false image” of a prison martyr. It also questioned the video’s editing and alleged that jump-cuts suggested it was heavily produced.

The controversy follows Vijay’s September 7 Assembly gesture, which drew protests from the DMK. Vijay subsequently said on September 8 that the gesture was unintentional.

The exchange has intensified the political confrontation between the ruling TVK and the DMK over MISA, the Emergency and Stalin’s political legacy.