Tumultuous scenes in Tamil Nadu Assembly as CM Vijay attacks DMK citing Sarkaria Commission, Veeranam scandal

Video recording of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay during the state legislative assembly session in Chennai on September 7, 2026 | Photo credit: YouTube/@tamilnaduassembly

The Tamil Nadu Assembly witnessed riotous scenes on Monday (September 7, 2026) after Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay launched a scathing attack on the DMK and its leaders, accusing them of corruption and citing the 1970s Sarkaria Commission report, the Veeranam “scandal” and the alleged collection of funds by the “Kaparty hear” gang as a “scandal” and alleged collection.

Last week, Mr Vijay said he would respond and warned DMK members not to “run away”.

The DMK MLAs, who remained silent till 9:56 a.m. when the chief minister began his reply, later started raising slogans and displaying leaflets. They surrounded the speaker and even resorted to a sit-in protest after Mr Vijay deviated from his prepared speech, raising his voice and taking issue with the DMK, accusing its leaders of nepotism.

He further quoted the songs of former chief minister and AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran (MGR) and the words of the late Tamil poet Kannadasan to attack the DMK. “You always say you faced MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act). But we know the history behind MISA,” the chief minister said, further attacking the DMK.

Mr. Vijay also said that he belongs to the league of Annadurai and MGR, leaving out other Chief Ministers who have ruled the state.

Denial of permission by the speaker

JCD President Prabhakar paid no heed to DMK members’ demands to respond to the Chief Minister. He later said that the DMK MLA’s aim was to prevent the Chief Minister’s speech from reaching the people.

“You complained that he didn’t speak. When he did, you didn’t let him for a minute. You tried your best and you’re tired of it,” the spokesman said.

At one point, DMK deputy leader KN Nehru spoke to the chief minister and asked him to tell the speaker to allow their leader Udhayanidhi Stalin to respond. Mr Vijay was seen making gestures indicating that only the Speaker could take the decision.

As some members who were sitting on the floor found it difficult to get up, Mr. Vijay extended a helping hand to DMK MLA Durai Chandrasekar to help him get up.

Subsequently, Mr. Vijay asked the Speaker to allow the DMK to speak. Even as the DMK MLAs were returning to their seats, the Speaker decided that he could not allow them to speak as they did not allow the Chief Minister to speak for even a minute in the House.

Published – 07 Sep 2026 12:32 IST