Stalin demands apology from T.N. CM Vijay for MIDS professor’s detention; TVK denies ‘political vendetta’ claim

M.K. Stalin. File | Photo Credit: S. Siva Saravanan

DMK president M.K. Stalin on Thursday (October 29, 2026) condemned the brief detention of Kalaiyarasan, an associate professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS), on Wednesday (October 28). Mr. Stalin claimed the academic was detained for highlighting the unprecedented price rise, describing it as the height of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s (TVK) “fascist attitude”.

He said Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay and the police department must apologise for the “arrest” of a renowned academic on false charges.

In a statement, Mr. Stalin said he was shocked by the “illegal arrest” of Prof. Kalaiyarasan by plain-clothes police personnel, who took him away in a rented vehicle. “He is not an ordinary person, nor does he have a criminal background,” he said.

Mr. Stalin said Prof. Kalaiyarasan was a professor at one of Tamil Nadu’s foremost research institutions and had obtained his PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University. “He is one of the authors of The Dravidian Model, published by Cambridge University Press. He was a member of the Central Planning Commission and played a major role in preparing an economic research paper for the Tamil Nadu government. He is still a member of the Department of Environment and Climate Change, headed by the Chief Minister,” he said.

Mr. Stalin said it was unacceptable to dismiss the incident as a case of mistaken arrest. Prof. Kalaiyarasan had been “arrested” for an offence he had not committed, denied his rights and had his mobile phone seized by the police, he alleged.

“What a shame that the government allows criminals to roam free while trying to intimidate an educationist,” he said.

Questioning the grounds for the “arrest”, Mr. Stalin asked whether Prof. Kalaiyarasan had been targeted for highlighting the achievements of the Dravidian Model government and exposing the unprecedented price rise under the TVK regime.

“Of course, there is no place for education in the TVK, which is dominated by ignorants. But we never thought that it had such an aversion to knowledge that it would arrest an educationist. The TVK will surpass the BJP in its fascist tendencies. Was the arrest made with the approval of the Chief Minister and officials?” he asked.

Published - October 29, 2026 11:51 am IST