CHENNAI: The TVK on Saturday urged the Election Commission to cancel DMK president MK Stalin’s star campaigner status and direct the District Returning Officer of Tiruppur district, under which the Dharapuram Assembly constituency falls, to lodge an FIR against him over derogatory and body-shaming remarks against TVK candidate P Sathyabama.
Earlier in the day, TVK president and Tamil Nadu CM C Joseph Vijay condemned the DMK president over his remarks against TVK candidate P Sathyabama during the campaign for the Dharapuram Assembly constituency by-election. In a social media post, Vijay charged that Stalin had made “derogatory and indecent” remarks about Sathyabama and mocked her physical appearance in his speech on Friday.
In a complaint submitted to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, TVK general secretary (election campaign management) and PWD Minister Aadhav Arjuna alleged that Stalin made the remarks against Sathyabama while addressing an election campaign meeting in Dharapuram on October 2. He said Stalin ridiculed Sathyabama's physical appearance by questioning how she could perform a somersault with "such a body."
Arjuna alleged that the remarks were unrelated to Sathyabama's political record or candidature and violated the Model Code of Conduct provisions concerning the dignity of women. He also sought an FIR against Stalin under Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, 1998.
