Vijay; Udhayanidhi Stalin
NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu leader of the opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin on Tuesday appeared to make a personal jibe at chief minister C Joseph Vijay, suggesting that a “wife is searching for her husband at the Chengalpattu court.”Although Udhayanidhi did not take names, Vijay’s estranged wife, Sangeetha Sornalingam, has filed for divorce.The case is currently pending before the Chengalpattu Family Welfare Court, which was the same court referenced in the DMK leader’s remark.”The entire state of Tamil Nadu is aware of the story of the wife searching for her husband at the Chengalpattu court. Therefore, the chief minister must set aside the persona of @actorvijay” and, at least from now on, conduct himself as “@CMOTamilnadu,” Udhayanidhi said. The former deputy chief minister made the remark while attacking the actor-turned-politician for addressing the Tamil Nadu assembly in “cinematic” style.Vijay, who heads the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), has been repeatedly scrutinised over his acting background—an issue he addressed during his speech.”Some people say that I came directly from a film shooting set to become chief minister. In their own language, I would say that is just a ‘reel’,” ANI quoted him as saying. “Most people start a political party first and then go to the people. We went to the people first and only then started our party. Those who fail to understand this are the ones who dismiss us as merely an actor’s party. In the 2026 election, we contested alone without any alliance,” he added.Also Read | ‘Mocked as actor’s party’: Tamil Nadu CM Vijay’s ‘reel’ to real speech in assemblySangeetha Sornalingam filed for divorce in December last year. She and Vijay have two children—a son and a daughter.The three skipped Vijay’s swearing-in ceremony.
TVK hits back
Hitting back at Udhayanidhi, TVK accused the DMK of responding to corruption allegations with personal attacks instead of answers.“When our victorious leader raises corruption allegations against DMK, they are never able to respond. Instead, they resort to personal attacks. People say comparing gold with tin is a low-quality act. This opposition is in a pitiful state where they only know how to cling to power. When asked to respond, they panic and cannot answer properly,” the party said in a post on X. Udhayanidhi’s father MK Stalin headed the government that was defeated in the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, held in April.
