- CM Joseph Vijay and Opposition leader Udhayanidhi Stalin met in Assembly after Stalin's arrest and release
- Udhayanidhi Stalin claimed his arrest was staged to divert attention from state issues before the budget
- Stalin denied making derogatory remarks against actor Trisha and clarified his speech's intent
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin came face to face on Wednesday in the Assembly, following a day of high drama that saw the DMK leader arrested and later released by the court.
While Vijay avoided any comment on the arrest, Udhayanidhi Stalin trained his guns at the Chief Minister and his government.
Udhayanidhi Stalin, who was arrested over alleged derogatory remarks against actor Trisha, said the TVK government staged the drama of his arrest to divert attention from state issues ahead of the budget.
"The arrest drama happened yesterday to divert attention from many important issues," the DMK leader told NDTV after the TVK government presented its first budget in the Assembly.
Stalin also took a swipe at the Chief Minister's silence on his arrest. "You should ask him. He is the one who is silent," the Leader of Opposition told mediapersons outside the Assembly.
Udhayanidhi Stalin was arrested from his Chennai home on Tuesday morning following a TVK complaint over his remarks against actor Trisha at a public event.
The Madras High Court later on the same day directed the Tamil Nadu Police to release Udhayanidhi after completing his questioning in connection with the case.
Udhayanidhi denied making any derogatory remarks during his speech. "They cut, copied, and pasted my speech to claim I spoke inappropriately. Some have accused me of using double meanings. I spoke with only a single meaning: the farmers need water. I have absolutely no intention of disrespecting women. I view every mother and sister in Tamil Nadu as my own family," he clarified after being released from detention.
Reacting to the Vijay government's first budget, Udhayanidhi Stalin dubbed it a "zero budget".
"It's been 100 days since the government was formed. People will give zero marks to this government. This budget is zero," Udhayanidhi Stalin told NDTV.
Accusing the Vijay government of renaming and rebranding schemes of the previous DMK government, he said, "All the schemes introduced by this government were announced by the DMK. They have only changed the names of the schemes."
Tamil Nadu Finance Minister N Marie Wilson on Wednesday presented the TVK government's first Budget in the Assembly and hailed Chief Minister Vijay for several initiatives, including halting the practice of taking "cut" in tenders for some parties and individuals.
The government also allotted over Rs 1,300 crore for two gold assistance schemes - both key promises of the TVK - while asserting that steps were being taken to bring Tamil Nadu out of a "financial crunch."
Reiterating that the TVK regime opposes NEET, Wilson urged the Centre to scrap the qualifying test and revert to the old method of medical admissions based on Class 12 marks.
On the issue of NEET, Udhayanidhi Stalin attacked Vijay, saying his government had filed cases against students who protested against the NEET paper leak.
