The arrest of DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, on Tuesday over his alleged sexually coloured remarks at a public meeting on the ties between Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and a Tamil actor escalated into a showdown between the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led government and the DMK in the state.The row triggered a war of words between the Vijay-led TVK and the DMK on the eve of the Assembly’s Budget Session, setting off statewide protests and a legal battle in the Madras High Court.AdvertisementHours after the police took Udhayanidhi to Thanjavur, he was questioned at the Sengipatti police station before being released on station bail as per the high court’s order.Read | How Vijay may have given Udhayanidhi Stalin what dynasty never couldEarlier in the day, at around 9.30 am, a joint team of police from Thanjavur and Chennai’s Neelankarai arrived at Udhayanidhi’s residence in the East Coast Road neighbourhood in the state capital. Security had been tightened outside the house. As television cameras gathered, officers escorted the former deputy chief minister into a police vehicle at around 11 am. Before leaving his residence, the LoP accused the Vijay government of “manufacturing” a controversy to divert attention from the Cauvery water dispute.“I spoke for over 20 minutes on farmers, their welfare and the Cauvery river water issue. They have manipulated something that I never spoke about and are using it as a diversion tactic,” Udhayanidhi, son of DMK president M K Stalin, told reporters. “Even a basic member of my party will not be threatened by such arrests. We will face it legally.”AdvertisementHis arrest followed a complaint filed by a functionary of the TVK women’s wing over Udhayanidhi’s purported remarks at a farmers’ protest in Thanjavur Monday. During his speech, while he attacked CM Vijay over the Cauvery row, someone in the gathering shouted the name of a popular Tamil actor associated with Vijay. Udhayanidhi responded with what critics described as a sexually suggestive double entendre, triggering widespread outrage and demands for action against him.Read | ‘Incompetent CM, dummy cabinet’: MK Stalin attacks Vijay after police arrest son UdayanidhiPolice registered a case against Udhayanidhi under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act and Information Technology Act. Police sources said six FIRs have since been registered across the state against him. Former Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin waves to supporters after his arrest for remarks against CM Vijay. (PTI)As Udhayanidhi was driven by the police for over 300 kms to Thanjavur for questioning, his lawyers rushed to the Madras High Court to seek anticipatory bail. During the hearing, Advocate General P S Vijay Narayan told Justice G K Ilanthiraiyan that the state had no intention of remanding the LoP in judicial custody and that he had been taken to Thanjavur only for interrogation.Recording the submission, the court directed the police to release Udhayanidhi on station bail after questioning. Disposing of his anticipatory bail plea, the judge also directed him to cooperate with the investigation and appear before the investigating officers whenever required.Hitting out at the Vijay government, M K Stalin questioned why his son had been transported by the police to Thanjavur if the intention was only to question him. “If the purpose is to conduct an investigation, why not conduct it in Chennai?” he asked.Calling the HC’s direction to release Udhayanidhi “a blow to the fascist nature” of the TVK government, the DMK chief alleged that the LoP’s arrest was intended to keep him away from the Assembly a day before the tabling of the Budget.The ex-CM accused the Vijay government of trying to deflect attention from its alleged mishandling of the Cauvery dispute. “The incompetent dummy Chief Minister could not bring Cauvery water, could not even speak to stop the Mekedatu dam,” he said, alleging that the TVK was preoccupied with arresting critics instead of answering the Opposition’s questions.Stalin claimed that Udhayanidhi had neither named anyone nor made any obscene remarks, accusing their political opponents of circulating edited versions of his speech. “Arrogance leads to destruction. Continued arrogance will hasten destruction,” he said.The TVK, however, defended the police action. Energy and Law Minister R Nirmalkumar said a person holding a constitutional office has a greater responsibility to maintain dignity in public life, He said Udhayanidhi was “unfit to remain Leader of the Opposition” and “unfit to be in public life”.Political reactionsThe political reactions over the LoP’s arrest from across the spectrum reflected both condemnation of his remarks and unease over his arrest. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami or EPS criticised Udhayanidhi’s comments as unbecoming of the office he holds but urged the government to withdraw the arrest move, describing it as “politically motivated” on the eve of the Assembly session.MDMK general secretary Vaiko alleged that Udhayanidhi had reduced himself to the level of “a fourth-rate platform speaker” and that his remarks were unbecoming of the LoP.The BJP, which demanded Udhayanidhi’s arrest immediately after his speech, maintained its stance. BJP leaders called his comments “vulgar and shameful”, with senior party leader Tamilisai Soundararajan saying that they reflected poorly on public discourse while shifting attention away from farmers and the Cauvery issue.Protests, counter-protestsUdhayanidhi’s arrest triggered demonstrations by the DMK workers across the state. DMK cadres blocked roads and raised slogans in Chennai, Tiruchi, Madurai, Coimbatore, Erode, Ooty and other districts, accusing the government of suppressing the Opposition.The TVK workers organised counter-protests condemning Udhayanidhi’s remarks. The party’s national spokesperson petitioned the National Commission for Women, seeking action against him while alleging that his remarks objectified women.Udhayanidhi’s releaseWith hundreds of the DMK workers gathering outside the Thanjavur East police station, where Udhayanidhi was supposed to be taken for questioning, police shifted him to the Sengipatti police station, about 20 km away, citing security concerns. The move came after he had been brought all the way from Chennai on the ground that the case fell under the jurisdiction of the Thanjavur East police station.On reaching Sengipatti, Udhayanidhi initially refused to get out of the police vehicle, questioning the change of venue. He was then assured by the police, sources said, that his interrogation would be completed within an hour so that he could board his scheduled 10 pm flight from Tiruchirappalli to Chennai in accordance with the high court’s direction that he be released after questioning.During the brief standoff, Udhayanidhi was learnt to have spoken to the DMK’s Thanjavur district leaders, following which the party cadres began moving towards Sengipatti. After his questioning there, Udhayanidhi received a rousing reception from the DMK workers outside the police station before he headed to the Tiruchirappalli airport.Speaking to reporters at the airport, the LoP dismissed his arrest as a “diversion tactic” by the Vijay government to shift attention from the DMK’s farmers’ protest and prevent the Opposition from raising the Cauvery issue in the Assembly.you may likeMaintaining that his 25-minute speech at the Thanjavur event was entirely about farmers’ issues, the Mekedatu dam and the TVK government’s “mishandling” of the Cauvery row, Udhayanidhi denied making any derogatory remarks. “I did not speak in double meaning; I spoke in single meaning. I only demanded that Cauvery water be secured for Tamil Nadu,” he said, alleging that portions of his speech had been “cut, copied and pasted” to create a “false narrative”.Rejecting allegations of misogyny against him, Udhayanidhi said he had never intended to disrespect any woman and added that he had been brought up to treat every woman with dignity.Calling his arrest “a comedy”, he accused the TVK government of “behaving like a circus tent staging a performance”. He questioned why nearly 3,000 police personnel were deployed to escort him by road from Chennai to Thanjavur “as though I were a terrorist”, despite the government telling the high court that he was only being questioned. He said the DMK would challenge the police action legally.