Vijay clarifies 'touching jaw' gesture in assembly after row

Vijay explains controversial gesture : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay clarified his jaw-touching gesture in the State Assembly was unintentional.

The gesture was interpreted by some as mocking DMK president M K Stalin's past jaw injury during the Emergency.

CPI-M state secretary P Shanmugam condemned the act as 'body shaming' and irresponsible.

Vijay made the gesture while criticising the DMK over alleged corruption, prompting his clarification.

The controversy highlights ongoing political tensions and historical references between the ruling and opposition parties.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Tuesday said that his body language of touching his jaw as if to lift it was involuntary and completely unintentional.

Referring to his expression in the State Assembly on September 7, Vijay said: "My body langauge was an accidental expression. I would like to make it known that it was not in any way intentional."

Further, he said in a statement on social media: "Therefore, I kindly request that it should not be interpreted as an act intended to hurt anyone's feelings on a personal level."

Understanding The Controversial Gesture : Vijay's posture of holding his jaw -- with one hand -- as if to lift it one way became the point of discussion on social media.

Some claimed that the chief minister was mocking Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M K Stalin as it was he who had suffered a jaw fracture during his incarceration during the infamous Emergency (1975-77).

Opposition Reacts To CM's Actions : On this issue, Communist Party of India-Marxist state secretary P Shanmugam said that during the Emergency, former chief minister Stalin was severely beaten by the police and his jaw was broken.

"Body shaming is condemnable no matter who does it. The chief minister himself having done it is an irresponsible act," Shanmugam said in a statement posted on social media.

Further, the Marxist party leader said that transforming the legislative assembly into a venue for personal attacks that does not help the public welfare in any way or turning it into a platform solely to praise one's own leader is a completely unethical act.

The CPI-M is one of the parties that support the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam regime and it survives because of support from Congress, Left parties, IUML and the VCK.

Historical Context And Stalin's Emergency Experience : Vijay made that gesture -- of appearing to lift his jaw using his hand and at the same time slightly bending his head one way -- when he targeted the main opposition DMK over alleged corruption based on official ED documents and the Sarkaria Commission report of the 1970s.

Against this background, Vijay clarified that his expression was out-and-out unintentional.

Over the years, some All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leaders and supporters had claimed that Stalin had not been jailed under the MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act) during the Emergency.

However, they had not disputed Stalin's imprisonment.

In 2019, Stalin had even said that being asked to prove that he was arrested under MISA was humiliating. He had said that discussions on that topic were unwarranted.

In his autobiography, Ungalil Oruvan (One among you), Stalin describes his arrest in 1976 and subsequent imprisonment.

He also briefly refers to the jail being transformed into a torture chamber, one that echoed death cries.

Stalin, in his autobiography (first and only volume released so far) released in 2022, while writing about his first day in jail, says that he received the strength that day to face anything in life.

With that observation, the first volume ends.