Tamil Nadu CM Vijay warns of action against anyone making obscene remarks against women - thehindu.com

**Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Warns of Action Over Obscene Remarks About Women**

Chennai – In a forceful statement on Monday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin warned that anyone making “obscene or degrading remarks about women” would face strict legal action. The warning came after a remark made during a public rally in Madurai, which was widely interpreted as a body‑shaming comment targeting a female political figure. Stalin said the government would invoke existing provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act to curb misogynistic language, emphasizing that “respect for women is non‑negotiable in a progressive society.”

The remark sparked a heated episode inside the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Several DMK legislators staged a protest, shouting slogans and disrupting the proceedings, which led the Speaker to order the eviction of a group of MLAs for violating assembly decorum. The disruption lasted nearly an hour, temporarily halting the passage of several bills. Media outlets, including *The Times of India* and *India Today*, highlighted the episode as one of the most intense “punch dialogues” the house has seen in recent years, reflecting deepening fissures within the ruling coalition.

Opposition parties quickly seized on the controversy. A senior leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) condemned Stalin’s remarks as “body shaming” and called for an apology, while the DMK’s own youth leader, actor‑politician Udhayanidhi Stalin, challenged the chief minister to address contemporary issues rather than revisiting past grievances. The chief minister, in turn, accused the DMK’s older leadership of “living in the past” and urged the party to focus on present governance challenges. The episode underscores a growing tension between Tamil Nadu’s leadership and its legislators over language, gender sensitivity, and internal party discipline.