The man who stood up against Jaya in Assembly

CHENNAI: The famous heated argument with then CM J Jayalalithaa and her cabinet colleagues on February 1, 2012 was one of the key moments in DMDK leader Vijayakanth’s political career. Without holding back his true nature, he took on AIADMK supremo on the floor of the Assembly following provocation from the Treasury bench, ridiculing DMDK’s ability to win elections on its own.

Though the incident backfired for Vijayakant and marked the beginning of his political downfall, he was admired for his courage to stand up against Jayalalithaa. “Next to former CM Karunanidhi, Vijayakant was the only politician who dared the AIADMK supremo. I admire him for his brave and unwavering attitude like many, but it never helped in politics,” said a former MLA, seeking anonymity.

“He was a spontaneous person, who never hid his emotion nor camouflaged his feelings. The exchange of words with Jayalalithaa in the Assembly was one such incident. But it backfired for him,” said former Arni MLA RM Babu Murugavel, who was closely associated with Vijayakant for more than a decade.

It all started when the DMDK party whip and Erode (South) MLA VC Chandrakumar questioned the AIADMK for increasing bus and milk prices. Rebutting the charges, Jayalalithaa said that the AIADMK would go solo in the by-poll in Sankarankovil and dared its ally DMDK to prove its worth by contesting alone.

Vijayakant reacted immediately and said that the ruling party always wins the bypolls. But, the sharp rhetoric from Jayalalithaa that the opposition leader “admitting” his party’s failure well before announcing the date for the bypoll, provoked him, said senior journalist Durai Karuna, who covered it.

Vijayakant returned the favour by pointing out AIADMK’s debacle in the Pennagaram by-poll, in which the AIADMK forfeited the deposit. The situation escalated when then minister Natham R Viswanthan ridiculed Vijayakant that “this is not cinema.” Fuming, the actor-turned-politician gestured in an intimidating manner, prompting then-Speaker D Jayakumar to suspend him. Jayalalithaa announced that “good time has come to an end” for the DMDK. Within a few months, eight MLAs from the DMDK switched sides.

“Vijayakant nature is unsuitable for politics. I even told him that Assembly is not the place for showing one’s emotion, but he differed,” said Murugavel.