Udhayanidhi Stalin is facing intense backlash after a viral speech on the Cauvery water dispute in Thanjavur, where he paused at crowd chants of “Trisha” and made a suggestive innuendo about actress Trisha Krishnan, linked to CM Vijay. TVK and BJP leaders condemned the remarks as disgusting, vulgar and cheap provocation amid rising tensions over Tamil Nadu’s legal battle with Karnataka on Cauvery water sharing.
LEADER OF OPPOSITION in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Udhayanidhi Stalin has come under fire for his alleged “double-meaning” remarks over actress Trisha. While making public speech at Thanjavur over the Cauvery water dispute, Udhayanidhi, a leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and former Deputy Chief Minister of the state, supposedly made a suggestive innuendo about Trisha Krishnan while talking about the Chief Minister of TN and actor Vijay.
Whilst delivering a speech on the Cauvery water dispute, Udhayanidhi was trying to corner CM Vijay and criticized the ruling TVK’s ineffectiveness in handling the issue. As the crowd around him started chatting “Trisha, Trisha,” the opposition leader paused, smirked, and made an innuendo which was allegedly as suggestive reference to Trisha, who is a co-star and close friend of Vijay, and is believed to be romantically linked to the CM by social media.
“Our CM is not opening his mouth about the Cauvery water issue. He’s more worried about putting false cases on the DMK,” Udhayanidhi said, referring to his party. When someone from the audience chanted Trisha’s name, he smiled and added what can be roughly translated to, “Water comes or not, the water should come. I meant the Cauvery,” as the crowd around him continued their cheering and hooting.
The video clip of the speech has since gone viral, eliciting harsh criticism by the ruling TVK party and opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In a statement posted on X, Rhevanth Charan called Udhayanidhi’s remarks about Trisha “absolutely disgusting,” adding that this was a new low for the politician. “Absolutely disgusting. Passing such disgraceful comments against anyone is completely unacceptable. It exposes the mindset, political culture, and declining standards of the clan,” wrote the TVK MLA.
Charan further leveled criticisms against Udhayanidhi, commenting that the politician has resorted to “cheap provocation” and “engagement farming” to garner public attention. “Your announced protest collapsed even before it could begin. Now, desperate for attention, you have resorted to cheap provocation and engagement farming,” Charan further wrote in his X statement.
BJP’s Tamil Nadu state unit too criticized Udhayanidhi, stating that the Leader of Opposition’s remark is “disgusting, obscene, vulgar and shameful.”
The Cauvery Water Dispute is a long-standing, inter-state water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over sharing the waters of the Cauvery River. On Monday, August 3, 2026, Tamil Nadu moved the Supreme Court against Karnataka, alleging that the latter has failed to release its share of Cauvery river water as directed by the Cauvery Water Management Authority and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay filed the petition after Karnataka allegedly failed to release the required quantity of water despite repeated directions from the river authorities.
Following senior legal counsel’s advice, the Tamil Nadu state administration asked the Supreme Court for guidance to make sure Karnataka complies with the decisions and releases Tamil Nadu's appropriate share within the allotted period.
With the opposition criticizing the ruling administration for how it handled water-sharing talks with Karnataka, the Cauvery conflict has once again become a significant political flashpoint in Tamil Nadu.
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