Chief Minister Joseph Vijay on Tuesday (23 June 2026) launched a sharp attack on the DMK in the Tamil Nadu Assembly over its criticism of the sequence in which the National Anthem and Tamil Thai Vazhthu were rendered during the Governor’s Address debate, accusing the opposition of hypocrisy and selectively invoking state rights and Tamil identity.
However, in attempting to highlight what he described as a contradiction in the DMK’s position, Vijay’s speech itself drew attention for repeatedly portraying the act of singing the National Anthem before the Tamil Thai Vazhthu as though it were a serious transgression requiring explanation and justification.
Referring to the controversy, Vijay said, “I must mention something regarding the Governor’s address: the opposition claimed it was wrong to sing the National Anthem after the Tamil Thai Vazhthu, wrong to sing the National Anthem twice, and argued that such an event had never occurred in this Assembly before, effectively breaking established protocol.”
He then sought to counter the opposition by citing an event held during the previous DMK regime.
“To those opposition members, those self-proclaimed fighters for state rights and guardians of tradition, I have just one question. Do you remember August 2, 2021? It was the centenary celebration of the Tamil Nadu Legislature. Do you recall the function where the Honorable President of India unveiled the portrait of our former Chief Minister, Kalaignar?”
Vijay continued, “Do you remember the announcement that the Tamil Thai Vazhthu would follow the National Anthem at that event? Please note this point, Honorable Speaker, do you recall it being stated that the Tamil Thai Vazhthu would be sung a second time, after the National Anthem? And this happened in this very Assembly, the very House where Kalaignar once sat.”
The Chief Minister then questioned the DMK’s silence over the sequence followed during that function.
“Do you remember who relegated Tamil to the second position on that occasion? Furthermore, do you recall that the National Anthem was sung a second time at the very end of that same function?”
He added, “If there are any doubts, one can refer to this book for clarification.”
According to Vijay, whenever the issue is raised, the response from his political opponents is that the presence of the President of India justified the protocol followed at the event.
“If you question this, they simply dismiss it by saying, ‘That was a function attended by the President; that’s just how things are, you shouldn’t pay attention to such details.'”
Vijay argued that the public had become accustomed to what he described as the DMK’s habit of taking contradictory positions.
“The public is witnessing this pattern of saying one thing and doing another, a behavior that persisted before the election and continues even now.”
He further alleged that the opposition was attempting to use its political experience and seniority to undermine his government.
“It seems they are leveraging their political seniority to insult both Vijay and the government that truly champions social justice for the common people. Let them carry on, let them do a good job.”
Concluding his remarks, Vijay accused the DMK of practising double standards on issues relating to Tamil identity and state rights.
“However, we have one firm message for the opposition party that masquerades as the champion of state rights and linguistic rights: unlike you, we do not play a double game, professing love for Tamil, language, and culture while acting hypocritically.”
Notably, while Vijay’s speech was intended as a rebuttal to the DMK’s criticism, much of his argument revolved around repeatedly questioning why the National Anthem had been sung before the Tamil Thai Vazhthu during a 2021 Assembly function.
The Chief Minister’s remarks themselves appeared to treat the singing of the National Anthem first as something that required political justification, even though the National Anthem is a constitutional symbol of the Republic and routinely forms part of official state functions across the country.
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