DMK president M. K. Stalin on Friday, 3 July 2026, sharply condemned the arrest of former minister Anita Radhakrishnan by the ruling state government, calling it an act of political vendetta and accusing the administration of running a 'police raj' against opposition voices in Tamil Nadu.

Context

Anita Radhakrishnan, a former cabinet minister active in Tamil Nadu politics, was arrested by police on charges of allegedly making defamatory remarks against the sitting Chief Minister. Stalin questioned the urgency of the arrest, noting that she had been engaged in constituency work and public service at the time of her detention.

Stalin wrote on X: 'சினிமா ஆக்‌ஷன் பாணியில் போலீஸ் ராஜ்ஜியம் நடத்திக் கொண்டிருக்கிறார் முதலமைச்சர்!' ['The Chief Minister is running a police kingdom in the style of a cinema action sequence!'], underlining what he described as a disproportionate and theatrical use of police power.

Policy Backdrop

Tamil Nadu has a documented history of ruling parties deploying defamation cases and police action against opposition legislators. This pattern has recurred across both DMK and AIADMK-led governments since the 1990s, with each side accusing the other of weaponising state machinery when in power.

Stalin drew a pointed contrast: a woman who reportedly filed a complaint of gang sexual assault against a legislator from the ruling alliance had seen no police action, while the government moved swiftly to arrest an opposition politician for alleged speech offences. He asked why the same urgency was absent in the sexual violence case.

Stakeholders and Impact

The arrest has drawn attention from opposition MLAs across Tamil Nadu and from women's safety advocates who have flagged the apparent disparity in police response times between political speech cases and crimes against women. Stalin specifically referenced rising incidents of murder, robbery, and sexual offences across the state, arguing that police resources were being misdirected.

Stalin also raised the issue of political horse-trading, alleging that the ruling government had been inducting opposition MLAs to shore up its majority while simultaneously arresting critics — a combination he described as self-serving governance rather than public service. He warned: 'ஆணவம் அழிவிற்கு வழி!' ['Arrogance leads to ruin!']

On the defamation arrest itself, Stalin posed a rhetorical challenge: if remarks deemed defamatory warranted immediate arrest, the same standard applied to sitting ministers' own public statements would require the detention of many more individuals.

What's Next

Legal observers and opposition groups will watch whether Anita Radhakrishnan is produced before a court promptly and whether bail is granted. Equally significant is the status of the pending sexual assault complaint against the TVK MLA — any further delay in that case will intensify opposition pressure on the ruling administration.

Stalin's intervention signals that the DMK intends to keep both issues — the arrest and the unaddressed assault complaint — at the centre of Tamil Nadu's political discourse in the weeks ahead, raising the stakes for the government's credibility on law-and-order governance.