Udhayanidhi Stalin Arrested Live Updates: Tamil Nadu tense as cop action sparks DMK protests

Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin has been arrested in Chennai over alleged remarks against CM Vijay. DMK cadres are now staging widespread protests in Tamil Nadu.

Leader of Opposition in Tamil Nadu Udhayandhi Stalin was arrested on Tuesday for his alleged remarks against Chief Minister Vijay. The DMK leader allegedly made a sexually suggestive reference to the Chief Minister’s friendship with a popular Tamil actor. Following the police action, hundreds of DMK workers are staging protests in different parts of Tamil Nadu.

Police detained Udhayanidhi from his residence in Neelankarai, Chennai, around 11 AM after waiting outside the premises while discussions took place with the DMK’s legal team.  Along with him, several DMK cadres were also detained by the police.

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He was later taken to Thanjavur, where he is expected to be questioned in the case registered over his speech at a protest meeting on the Cauvery water-sharing dispute. Speaking to reporters while being escorted by police, Udhayanidhi denied making the statements attributed to him and alleged that the action was intended to shift focus away from public issues. “I am being arrested for things I never said,” he said, adding that the ruling TVK government was “living in reels”. Calling the police action a “comedy”, he said he would challenge the case through legal means.

During his address, Udhayanidhi criticised the Tamil Nadu government over the Cauvery issue, saying the state had not received the water it was entitled to from Karnataka. As he spoke, sections of the audience began chanting the name of a well-known Tamil actor who is widely perceived to share a close friendship with Chief Minister Vijay. Pausing briefly and smiling at the crowd, Udhayanidhi made a remark that was widely interpreted as carrying a sexual innuendo. The audience responded with applause and laughter, after which he added, “I mean I was referring to Cauvery only.”

Live Updates
Aug 4, 2026 01:20 PM IST
Panneerselvam, DMK leaders detained during protest over FIR against Udhayanidhi

DMK MLA O Panneerselvam, along with party leaders, staged a protest in Theni after Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin was detained by police following the registration of an FIR over his alleged defamatory remarks against Chief Minister Vijay. Panneerselvam and several other DMK leaders were also detained during the protest.

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Aug 4, 2026 12:57 PM IST
DMK reacts to Udhayanidhi's arrest: 'Fascist government'

Following the arrest, the DMK issued a statement saying it "strongly condemned the fascist ADMK government for arresting the DMK Youth Wing Secretary and Opposition Leader". "In the protest held over the Cauvery issue, the ADMK government, unable to respond to any of the criticisms raised by the Honorable Opposition Leader, is demonstrating its helplessness by filing false cases. Who is it that is twisting the fact that the Opposition Leader spoke about the Cauvery issue without mentioning anyone's name, claiming he 'spoke obscenely' or spoke in 'double meanings'?"

கழக இளைஞர் அணிச்செயலாளர், மாண்புமிகு எதிர்க்கட்சித் தலைவர் @Udhaystalin அவர்களைக் கைது செய்த பாசிச த.வெ.க அரசை வன்மையாக கண்டிக்கின்றோம்.

காவிரி பிரச்சினைக்காக நடந்த ஆர்ப்பாட்டத்தில் த.வெ.க அரசு மீது, மாண்புமிகு எதிர்க்கட்சித்தலைவர் அவர்கள் முன்வைத்த எந்த விமர்சனங்களுக்கும்…
— DMK Youth Wing (@dmk_youthwing) August 4, 2026
Aug 4, 2026 12:53 PM IST
What did Udhayanidhi Stalin say against CM Vijay?

During a DMK protest held in Thanjavur on Monday against the Cauvery water-sharing dispute and the proposed Mekedatu dam project. While addressing the people from the protest stage, Udhayanidhi slammed the Vijay-led Tamil Nadu government, saying the state had not received the water for Cauvery it was entitled to from Karnataka. As he spoke, a section of the crowd began chanting the name of a well-known Tamil actor who is widely perceived to share a close friendship with Chief Minister Vijay.

Pausing briefly and smiling at the crowd, Udhayanidhi made a remark that was widely interpreted as carrying a sexual innuendo. The audience responded with applause and laughter, after which he added, "I mean I was referring to Cauvery only."

Aug 4, 2026 12:49 PM IST
What are the charges that led to Udhayanidhi Stalin's arrest?

Udhayandhi Stalin, DMK's youth wing secretary and the Leader of Opposition in Tamil Nadu Assembly, was arrested for his alleged sexual innuendo over the friendship of Chief Minister Vijay and an actor.

According to details of the FIR registered at the Thanjavur East Police Station, police booked Udhayanidhi under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 61 (criminal conspiracy), Section 196 (promoting enmity between groups), Section 192 (provoking riots), Section 79 (insulting the modesty of a woman), Section 296(b) (obscene utterances in a public place), Section 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and Section 352 (intentional insult intended to provoke a breach of peace).

The FIR also invokes Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act related to the electronic publication or transmission of obscene material.

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