'Mocking a woman candidate': TVK ministers demand Stalin apologise for alleged Dharapuram remarks

CHENNAI — The Dharapuram bypoll campaign took a bitter personal turn on Saturday as ministers of the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam demanded a public apology from DMK president M.K. Stalin over remarks he allegedly made about the party's candidate Sathyabama. TVK ministers K.A. Sengottaiyan and Arun Raj condemned what they described as humiliating comments directed at Sathyabama during Stalin's campaign rally in Dharapuram on Friday, where he spoke in support of the DMK's candidate S. Suganya. Stalin reportedly referred to derogatory nicknames that have been used against Sathyabama. The exact wording and the full context of the speech remain unclear, as no transcript has been made available. The DMK had not publicly responded to the allegations at the time of writing. Posting on X, Sengottaiyan questioned whether the remarks amounted to legitimate election campaigning or an offensive attempt to ridicule a woman candidate. He alleged that the comments reflected a broader pattern of disrespect towards women within the DMK, accused Stalin of adopting shifting positions on justice, honesty, caste and discrimination according to political convenience, and demanded a formal apology from the DMK leader. Arun Raj echoed the condemnation in a separate post, saying Stalin had used humiliating words and mocked Sathyabama while addressing a campaign programme in the constituency, and that the party strongly condemned what it regarded as an attack on the candidate's dignity. The controversy lands days before the October 6 polling in Dharapuram and Madurantakam, with 22 candidates in the fray in Dharapuram. Sathyabama is one of two former AIADMK MLAs who resigned from the Assembly in May and joined the TVK before being fielded as its candidates — a defection the DMK and the AIADMK have both turned into a central campaign theme, accusing the ruling party of engineering elections out of stolen mandates. Campaigning in both constituencies ends on October 4. Stalin is scheduled to campaign in Madurantakam on Saturday for the DMK's I. Paranthamen, while Chief Minister Vijay has been campaigning for the TVK's candidates.