- DMK Chief Stalin's remarks on Dharapuram bypoll candidate sparked criticism from TVK party
- Stalin called candidate Sathyabhama "Suitcase-Bhama" and referenced her physical appearance
- TVK leader Arun Raj accused Stalin of body-shaming and insult to women and Dalit community
A remark by DMK Chief MK Stalin targeting TVK's Dharapuram bypoll candidate Sathyabhama has triggered criticism from the ruling party, which has accused the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister of body-shaming the woman Dalit candidate and demanded an apology.
Stalin was campaigning in bypoll-bound Dharapuram, where he attacked the ruling TVK over what he described as "horse-trading" and the engineering of a split in the AIADMK.
He also targeted Sathyabhama, who had won the Dharapuram constituency as an AIADMK candidate in the recent Assembly election and resigned from the seat weeks later before switching to the ruling TVK. She is now contesting the bypoll as the TVK candidate.
Referring to allegations of money being involved in the political switch, Stalin said: "You people now call their candidate who acted against truth as Suitcase-Bhama. There is also another name - Somersault Bhama. I don't know how she did the somersault with that figure."
The reference to Sathyabhama's physical appearance triggered a sharp response from TVK.
TVK leader and Health Minister Arun Raj accused Stalin of body-shaming Sathyabhama and said the remark amounted to an insult to women and the Dalit community. The party has demanded an apology from the DMK chief.
The controversy comes against the backdrop of allegations of horse-trading facing the ruling TVK.
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The TVK had come to power promising good governance and a corruption-free administration. However, the DMK and AIADMK have accused the ruling party of what they describe as "scientific horse-trading" after six sitting AIADMK MLAs, including former ministers, resigned their seats weeks after the Assembly election and subsequently joined the TVK.
Only two of the resulting vacancies - Dharapuram and Madurantakam - are currently going to bypolls. The TVK has fielded the same former AIADMK legislators who had won those constituencies in the Assembly election.
The TVK has denied allegations of horse-trading and has argued that elected legislators are entitled to resign and join another party, without attracting disqualification under the anti-defection law.
The issue had also come into focus during the trust vote of the minority TVK government, when more than 20 rebel AIADMK MLAs voted in favour of the ruling government.
The opposition has questioned the circumstances surrounding the resignations and subsequent switches, while the TVK maintains that the legislators' decisions were voluntary and within the legal framework.
NDTV reached out to several DMK leaders for a response to the criticism over Stalin's remarks. The party has not commented so far.
