Udhayanidhi resorts to cheap ridicule as he is afraid of AIADMK-BJP alliance: Udhayakumar

Chennai, Dec 15 (PTI) AIADMK leader R B Udhayakumar on Monday hit out at Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin for his remarks at the DMK youth wing’s north zone conference, charging that the ruling party was "afraid of AIADMK’s growth" and resorting to "cheap ridicule" instead of answering questions on governance.

He said Udhayanidhi’s comments only showed "panic" in the DMK camp ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.

At the Tiruvannamalai youth wing meet on December 14, Udhayanidhi Stalin had mocked the AIADMK as an 'engine-less car' being dragged by the BJP, arguing that, however hard the national party tried, it could not pull the opposition outfit forward in Tamil Nadu.

The Udayanidhi had also targeted the AIADMK–BJP alliance and asserted that Tamil Nadu would remain "out of Delhi’s control", while pitching the DMK youth wing as a disciplined, cadre-based force against "spectacle politics".

Reacting sharply, Udhayakumar said Tamil Nadu’s future "rests with the AIADMK, not with those who run it down as an engine-less car".

"A party that has ruled for decades and lives in the hearts of the people cannot be written off with a throwaway line that it is an engine-less car," he said, adding that it was in fact the DMK that was "running on the borrowed fuel of power misuse and alliance arithmetic".

The AIADMK leader contended that Udhayanidhi’s description of the party betrayed his "fear" of the AIADMK-BJP alliance.

"Udhayanidhi is shivering at the AIADMK’s growing influence; that is why he speaks with such contempt about our movement and our leader," he charged.

Udhayakumar said, "For 54 years this movement has dedicated itself to the people, and for 32 of those years it has been in power implementing schemes that changed lives," he said, citing welfare initiatives and infrastructure projects launched under former chief minister J Jayalalithaa and later under Palaniswami.

Accusing Udhayanidhi of resorting to "personal taunts" against Palaniswami, Udhayakumar said: "Will people get any benefit from making personal attacks on EPS? He is the one whom the people are ready to crown in 2026, and that reality is what Udhayanidhi cannot digest".

Taking exception to the tone of Udhayanidhi’s campaign speeches, Udhayakumar said the deputy chief minister was "crossing all limits of political decency".

"Politics is not a stage for playground talk. When you speak from the position of deputy chief minister, you must show restraint and responsibility," he said, urging chief minister M K Stalin to "teach his son to speak with decorum".

"The people of Tamil Nadu will never accept political vulgarity that only gives them pain instead of solutions," Udhayakumar said, alleging that Udhayanidhi was using the platform of government and party to "run down opponents" instead of debating issues such as price rise, law and order and unemployment.

He maintained that the AIADMK’s volunteers would "not be demoralised by such criticism" and would "work harder at the grassroots".

Referring to Udhayanidhi’s earlier comments that AIADMK was "fit only for slavery" within alliances, Udhayakumar turned the charge back on the DMK.

"He talks as if only AIADMK has been subordinate in coalitions, but history shows that DMK has signed slave-like agreements with parties like the BJP, Congress and others when it suited them," he said.

"Udhayanidhi says all he sees in AIADMK is slavery, but he should first read about his own party’s record in national alliances," Udhayakumar added. He argued that Palaniswami’s "service, sacrifice and commitment to the people" were being deliberately misrepresented as "slavery" by the DMK’s younger leadership.

Projecting confidence about the next Assembly election, Udhayakumar said Tamil Nadu voters were preparing to write the verdict that would bring Palaniswami back to Fort St George in 2026. "You will go home in 2026, EPS will go to the Fort," he said in a pointed message to the ruling party.

He claimed people were "fed up" with what he called the DMK’s "advertisement politics" and cited recent government events in Madurai as examples of "PR over performance". "There are only a few months left for this government. The DMK’s drama of misleading the people will end, and the AIADMK will return to power with the blessings of the people," Udhayakumar said. PTI JR ADB