- Stalin’s hand gesture initially signaled a concluded political deal.
- Vijay, now CM, recreated Stalin’s gesture, becoming viral.
- DMK linked Vijay’s gesture to the RSS flag salutation.
- Gesture became a political battle over Vijay’s identity.
In Tamil Nadu politics, a simple hand gesture has evolved into a political talking point, moving from MK Stalin’s attempt to signal the end of a seat-sharing deal to a viral moment in the Assembly featuring Vijay.
Now, the DMK has given the controversy a new twist by drawing a parallel between the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief minister’s signature move and the RSS’s flag-salutation posture.
How Stalin’s Gesture Became Vijay’s Viral Moment
The story began in March this year, when Stalin, then the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, was leaving the DMK headquarters in Chennai. As he was getting into his car, reporters asked him whether seat-sharing talks had concluded. Stalin responded with a slicing hand gesture, signalling that the matter had been settled and the arrangement finalised.
ஆர்.எஸ்.எஸ் பெற்றெடுத்த பிள்ளை விஜய் என அவர் சரியாத்தான் சொல்லி இருக்கிறார்! https://t.co/RdVolQqQuC
— DMK IT WING (@DMKITwing) October 14, 2026
By June, the political roles had changed. Vijay had become Tamil Nadu’s chief minister, and Stalin’s gesture had found its way into the Assembly.
During a debate in the House, Vijay criticised the DMK and sought permission from Speaker JCD Prabhakar to demonstrate a gesture after DMK members had walked out. He then recreated Stalin’s now-viral hand movement.
The moment drew cheers from the treasury benches and quickly became a subject of discussion on social media. The TVK defended the episode as a lighthearted moment.
The political irony was evident. When Stalin first made the gesture, the AIADMK, then the principal opposition party, had criticised it as “vain”. When Vijay reproduced it, the DMK took issue with him.
DMK Draws A Parallel With RSS’s Dhwaj Pranam
The political sparring has since acquired a new dimension, with the DMK’s IT wing linking Vijay’s increasingly recognisable hand movement to the RSS’s Dhwaj Pranam, or salutation to the flag.
On Wednesday, the DMK handle shared a poster featuring silhouettes of two figures. One appeared to depict an RSS functionary performing the Dhwaj Pranam, while the other resembled Vijay making his signature gesture.
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The Dhwaj Pranam involves standing at attention, placing the right hand on the centre of the chest near the solar plexus with the palm facing downwards, and slightly bowing the head. The salutation is typically performed at the beginning and end of a shakha, or local RSS gathering.
The message accompanying the DMK’s political attack was pointed: the party labelled Vijay an “adopted child” of the RSS. The TVK has frequently faced accusations from its political opponents of being the BJP’s B-team.
Vijay’s Gesture Finds Favour Beyond The Assembly
While the DMK has sought to use the gesture to question Vijay’s political identity, the TVK and its supporters have embraced it as a recognisable feature of the party leader’s public persona.
The hand movement has increasingly become a fixture at party events, with its popularity extending beyond political gatherings. Recently, Tamil Nadu Minister Arun Raj shared a video featuring medical aspirants at a government medical college, in which students were seen imitating Vijay’s gesture.
From Political Signal To A Battle Over Identity
What began as Stalin’s way of signalling that a political deal had been finalised has since acquired multiple meanings. Vijay turned it into a moment of Assembly theatre, his supporters embraced it as a signature move, and the DMK has now repurposed it as a political attack linking the TVK chief minister to the RSS.
In Tamil Nadu’s increasingly theatrical political contest, the gesture has become more than a viral moment. It is now another point of contention in the battle over Vijay’s political identity.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: abplive.com
