Tamil Nadu’s ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has targeted Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president MK Stalin following the arrest of former state Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi in an alleged corruption case involving private schools.

In a series of social media posts, the TVK IT wing accused Stalin of hypocrisy over corruption allegations against DMK leaders. One post used the phrase “Bengal monitor lizard” while questioning the DMK chief’s response to the case.

The political exchange followed Mahesh’s arrest by the Chennai Police’s Central Crime Branch on Monday, October 26, after the Madras High Court rejected his anticipatory bail petition.

TVK invokes Bengal monitor lizard remark

The TVK IT wing directly questioned Stalin over the corruption allegations involving members of his party.

“Stalin sir, who can’t be caught… Were you sleeping while in power? When your ministers have racked up so many corruption cases, why, sir, are you just flapping your mouth like a Bengal monitor lizard?” one of the posts said.

The party also published a longer message accusing the DMK of corruption across government departments and criticising its political messaging.

The posts were attacks by the ruling party’s IT wing, rather than judicial findings about the allegations against the DMK.

TVK recalls Anbil Mahesh’s remarks after Karur stampede

In its social media campaign, the TVK IT wing also referred to remarks made by Anbil Mahesh after the Karur stampede in 2025, in which 41 people were killed during a rally addressed by actor-turned-politician Vijay, the TVK chief.

At the time, Mahesh was Tamil Nadu’s Education Minister. A video showing him breaking down while speaking about repeated appeals for people to follow safety conditions at the gathering had circulated widely.

The TVK IT wing referenced those remarks in a post carrying the phrase “Conditions are followed”, accompanied by a winking emoji.

The post used the earlier remarks to criticise the DMK leadership in the aftermath of Mahesh’s arrest.

Why Anbil Mahesh was arrested

Mahesh was arrested in connection with an alleged Rs 100 crore corruption case involving money purportedly collected from private educational institutions in exchange for permanent recognition, licences and other government approvals.

The investigation followed allegations that representatives of a private schools’ association collected money while promising to facilitate official clearances for educational institutions.

According to the report, investigators identified 177 schools believed to have been affected by the alleged scheme.

Mahesh has denied the allegations and challenged the case against him. The allegations remain subject to legal proceedings.

The arrest came after the Madras High Court rejected his anticipatory bail petition on Monday. Mahesh has also approached the court seeking to quash the First Information Report registered against him.

MK Stalin calls arrest politically motivated

Reacting to Mahesh’s arrest, Stalin accused the TVK government of targeting a political opponent and attempting to divert public attention from the state’s governance issues.

He said the former minister had cooperated with the investigation and would face the allegations through legal channels.

The DMK has maintained that the action against Mahesh is politically motivated, while the case against the former minister concerns allegations of corruption and breach of trust.

The developments have led to a fresh exchange between the ruling TVK and the opposition DMK, with both sides making allegations against the other.

Several people were injured after five vehicles in Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s convoy collided with an ambulance on the Purvanchal Expressway in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, October 26.

The accident occurred near Haliyapur, around 100 km from Lucknow, according to police cited in the report. The five vehicles involved were travelling at the rear of the convoy. Rahul Gandhi was safe following the incident.

Party workers and security personnel accompanying the convoy were among those injured, according to the report.

Where the accident happened

The collision took place on the Purvanchal Expressway while Rahul Gandhi was travelling from Lucknow towards Sultanpur.

The Congress MP had arrived at Lucknow airport earlier in the day before beginning the journey to Sultanpur, where he was scheduled to appear before a special MP-MLA court.

The court was due to pronounce its verdict in a defamation case related to alleged remarks about Amit Shah, who was the BJP president at the time of the alleged comments.

Details of the defamation case

The case dates back to 2018, when Vijay Mishra, a BJP leader and former chairman of the Sultanpur District Cooperative Bank, filed a complaint against Rahul Gandhi over his alleged remarks about Amit Shah.

The remarks were reportedly made during a campaign rally in Bengaluru ahead of the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections.

Rahul Gandhi was travelling to Sultanpur for the court proceedings when the accident involving vehicles at the rear of his convoy occurred.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has disagreed with National Conference president Farooq Abdullah’s remarks about Pakistan’s role in the Kashmir issue, calling his statement incorrect. Azad also said successive governments at the Centre had contributed to Jammu and Kashmir’s development since Independence.

Azad was responding to Abdullah’s comments at a party event in Budgam district on Saturday. The National Conference chief had claimed that Pakistan’s continued efforts to raise the Kashmir issue at international forums had helped keep the region safe.

“I respect Farooq sahab, but his statement is completely incorrect. If anyone is an enemy of India and the people of J&K, it is Pakistan,” Azad wrote on X.

Azad also referred to the situation in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), pointing to protests by residents demanding their rights. He said successive central governments, from Jawaharlal Nehru to Narendra Modi, had contributed to Jammu and Kashmir’s development irrespective of their political affiliations.

Imran Ansari also criticises Farooq Abdullah

Shia leader and former minister Imran Ansari also criticised Abdullah’s remarks and urged people in Kashmir not to follow his example.

In a post on X, Ansari said Abdullah and a select group of leaders were free to make such statements. He alleged that ordinary Kashmiris expressing similar views would face detention under laws such as the Public Safety Act (PSA) or the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Ansari also described the National Conference leadership’s position as a “rented rebellion”, according to the report.

BJP demands action against National Conference chief

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had also criticised Abdullah’s remarks and demanded police action against him.

BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakur described the statement as “seditious and anti-national”. He argued that a leader who had taken an oath under the Indian Constitution should not question the country’s intentions towards its own people while, in his view, lending political legitimacy to Pakistan’s position.

Thakur also accused Pakistan of contributing to decades of violence and targeted killings in Jammu and Kashmir through its alleged sponsorship of terrorism.

The criticism followed Abdullah’s remarks at the party event, where he credited Pakistan’s efforts to raise the Kashmir issue internationally with helping protect the region. Azad, however, rejected that assessment and maintained that Pakistan was an enemy of India and the people of Jammu and Kashmir.