'Story Of Wife Looking For Her Husband In Court...': Udhayanidhi Stalin's Personal Dig At CM Vijay

Last Updated:June 23, 2026, 17:34 IST

Vijay's "devils shouldn't talk about evils" barb drew a sharp response from Udhayanidhi Stalin, who accused him of behaving like an actor and not a chief minister.

The war of words between Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin took a personal turn on Tuesday after the latter made a cryptic reference to “a wife searching for her husband in the Chengalpattu court" — a remark widely seen as alluding to the divorce petition filed by Vijay’s wife Sangkeetha Sornalingam before the Chengalpattu Family Court in December 2025.

“The story about a wife searching for her husband in the Chengalpattu court is already known to all of Tamil Nadu. Therefore, he should forget that he is @actorvijay and hereafter behave as @CMOTamilnadu (the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu)," Udhayanidhi wrote on X, while describing Vijay’s reply to the motion of thanks on the Governor’s address as an “acting performance".

Udhayanidhi’s remarks came a day after Vijay hit back at the DMK, saying, “Evils, evils-nu devils pesa koodathu" (devils shouldn’t talk about evils), in response to criticism from the Leader of Opposition.

The exchange began after Udhayanidhi targeted the ruling TVK government over the law-and-order situation in the state, remarking that “to remain silent in the face of evil is itself a form of evil".

Continuing his attack, Udhayanidhi accused Vijay of belittling farmers by suggesting that their protests were being instigated by opposition parties.

“It is condemnable that he belittled farmers by suggesting that their protests were being instigated by opposition parties. His remark that he would tell a ‘short story’ (kuttikkathai) was completely against the dignity of the House," he said.

The DMK leader was referring to a satirical anecdote narrated by Vijay during his Assembly speech, in which an elderly man goes in search of a child’s father. When a young boy asks him what he is looking for, the man replies: “They told me your father would be right here. That’s why I am searching. Where’s your father? I can’t find him."

Udhayanidhi also mocked Vijay’s style of delivery, saying the chief minister spoke as though “the Assembly’s live camera was a cinema camera" and alleging that the Speaker had effectively allowed the speech to be delivered in a “single take" without interruptions from the opposition.

The criticism also referenced Vijay’s recreation of the viral hand-slashing gesture popularised by former chief minister and DMK president M K Stalin.

Before concluding his nearly 45-minute speech in the Assembly, Vijay pointed towards the empty opposition benches and asked Speaker J C D Prabhakar if he could make a hand gesture in the House.

“I wanted to enact this little bit in the presence of the DMK members. But they have all walked out. Can I make the gesture, with your permission?" Vijay asked.

The Speaker responded, “Why not, nothing wrong."

A smiling Vijay then made a downward hand-slashing gesture, prompting loud thumping of desks from Treasury benches and drawing amusement from the Speaker.

The gesture had first gone viral in March when then chief minister M K Stalin used it after finalising the DMK’s seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress. Stalin later clarified that it symbolised the successful conclusion of the alliance talks and subsequently recreated it in public appearances.

About the Author

Shankhyaneel Sarkar

Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has c...Read More

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