You are right, my jawbone did break: Stalin tells Vijay on MISA

DMK president M K Stalin on Thursday broke his silence over Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s MISA jibe and the “jaw gesture” made in the Assembly by recalling his Emergency-era prison “abuse” that included severe assaults, a move the ruling TVK quickly slammed by demanding proof of his detention.

Besides, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) mockingly asked Stalin if the “false image of a prison martyr was shattered”. Amidst the escalating political tension over Stalin’s imprisonment under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the Emergency (1975-77), TVK It Wing demanded proof of his detention, labeling his video address as an attempt to protect a “declining political image” without official documentation. The controversy stems from a friction point in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, where Vijay made a hand-to-jaw gesture during his speech on September 7 while referencing MISA, drawing strong criticism from some allies and rivals alike.

The opposition DMK then immediately protested, leading to chaos in the House. On September 8, Vijay clarified that the action was unintentional. Over the years, the DMK has been maintaining that following his arrest under MISA during Emergency, Stalin was subjected to brutal police torture inside the Chennai Central prison, leaving him with a fractured jawbone.

In response, Stalin released a nearly 10-minute video message on Thursday detailing his prison struggle, and criticised the TVK Government’s welfare delivery, and urging decorum in the House.

Flaying Vijay for raising decades-old corruption allegations citing the Sarkaria Commission report, Stalin dismissed them as “politically motivated lies” spread by those who held long-standing grudges against former CM, the late M Karunanidhi.

Clarifying his history during the MISA period, Stalin, a former chief minister, in the video posted on “X”, acknowledged that Vijay was correct regarding the MISA history, recounting the suppression during the Emergency, including his own arrest on January 31, 1976, after Karunanidhi protested against the law.

Stalin detailed the harsh conditions he faced in prison, including abuse, which led to the death of his colleague Chitti Babu and injuries to himself.

“I realise that some controversies that occurred in the recently concluded Legislative Assembly session have caused anger and dissatisfaction among the Tamil people and our brethren. Since my prison history is a key part of this controversy, I wish to clarify it. Brother Vijay, what you said is true; it is not a lie. During the Emergency, our leader Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) held a massive meeting at Marina Beach to oppose it and harshly criticised the MISA,” Stalin said in the video.

Following this, the then Union Government dismissed the DMK Government on January 31, 1976. The very next second, the police came to his Gopalapuram residence to arrest him under the MISA, he said.

In the video message released in response to the political row, Stalin asserted that his broken jaw was an unalterable “brave scar” of history.

“I faced many atrocities in prison. They locked us up in a place where leprosy patients were kept. They stuffed 10 people into a small room. In that same room, we all had to relieve ourselves in a single pot. The place was very foul-smelling; that is where we had to sleep. We were not allowed to sleep at night; the police would beat us with batons and trample us with boots,” Stalin said.

Further, life-convict inmates were made to beat Stalin and other DMK members brutally.

“My dear brother and Member of Parliament Chitti Babu died in prison because of their beatings. My jawbone broke from their hits. You (Vijay) even placed your hand on your jaw to show it, and that is correct. Even today, I have the scars from those beatings. I am not saying I didn’t experience it,” Stalin said, adding, “fictional accounts cannot erase history.”

Rebutting the DMK president, TVK’s IT Wing claimed it to be an “engineered attempt” to deflect from core governance issues, while claiming there was no evidence furnished by the former chief minister to back his claims.

Responding on its official social media channel, the TVK IT wing attacked both the technical integrity and historical claims made in Stalin’s video address, highlighting a lack of primary documentary evidence.

“While the video spans a significant length, it conspicuously fails to provide or display any official detention copy to verify the historical claims of wartime or Emergency-era political imprisonment being discussed,” it said on its official “X” handle.

The party further criticised the video’s production values, alleging that visible edit “jump-cuts” revealed a heavily produced script designed to manufacture public sympathy rather than stating the facts.

“The video of the false fighter released today has proven that the false image built up with fabricated stories and myths cannot withstand the truth,” it said, questioning why no official MISA detention orders or prison movement receipts were visually presented during the speech.

“Even after talking at length, he did not breathe a word about the detention copy. Truth does not need advertisements or explanations. But if the shooting video is released here, then the false image has been shattered,” the TVK IT wing claimed and asked, “has the tension been building up over the years since the false image of a prison martyr was shattered.”