DMK Stages Street Protests Demanding Action Against TVK Minister

 Over Viral "White Powder" Video

Chennai witnessed a sharp escalation in political tensions this week after a resurfaced video allegedly showing Tamil Nadu's Human Resources Management Minister D. Sarathkumar handling a white

powdery substance during a cricket match triggered a wave of protests, police complaints, and detentions, putting the young Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government on the defensive barely weeks into its term.

The Viral Video and the Minister's Defence

The controversy stems from a video showing the minister at the M.A. Chidambaram Cricket Stadium during an IPL match, in which he is seen using a debit card to line up a white powdery substance on the screen of a mobile phone while holding a rolled currency note. The footage, reportedly shared by Sarathkumar himself on Instagram with the caption "Thug Life," resurfaced just as it began circulating widely on social media, sparking immediate accusations of drug use against the minister.

Sarathkumar moved quickly to deny the allegations. He explained that the video was taken two to three years ago at Chepauk Stadium when his daughter fell ill during the match, and that he was crushing a medicine tablet for her because she could not swallow it whole, acting on his wife's suggestion. In a video statement posted to Instagram, he said a false narrative was being spread using an old video of his, timed right after he had attended an anti-drug campaign event that same morning.

His explanation, however, did not satisfy critics. DMK advocate Saranya Natarajan filed a formal criminal complaint with the Chennai City Police Commissioner, demanding an investigation under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The complaint argued that no child is visible anywhere in the video, and that using a card and a rolled-up ₹500 note to handle a tablet is inconsistent with how parents typically administer medicine to children, urging police to register an FIR and secure the original devices.

Street Protests and Detentions

The political temperature rose further on June 29, when DMK workers attempted to stage a demonstration near Rajarathinam Stadium in Chennai. Police denied permission for the agitation, sparking a heated argument between protesters and law enforcement, with over 20 demonstrators detained for violating prohibitory orders. A separate account put the number considerably higher: dozens of DMK workers and students' wing members gathered near the stadium and later staged a road blockade at Doveton in Vepery, briefly disrupting traffic, before officers detained more than 50 protesters, including party functionaries, citing prohibitory orders. Officials indicated those detained would likely be released subsequently.

Protests were not confined to Chennai alone. The DMK Students' Wing also held demonstrations in other parts of the state, including Madurai, where activists demanding accountability from the minister were similarly detained by police.

Addressing the media at the Chennai protest site, senior DMK leader and former Tamil Nadu Health Minister M.A. Subramanian was vocal in his criticism of the state government's handling of the episode. He stated that the party had formally informed the Tamil Nadu government about the planned protest, and accused the administration of deliberately trying to suppress it. He pointed to the previous DMK government's annual anti-drug awareness campaigns and questioned how the current administration was responding to the controversy, remarking that law and order had deteriorated over the past month and describing the state's governance as driven by "reels." He further argued that instead of allowing democratic protests, police were treating demonstrators like terrorists, and warned that further provocative incidents would only prompt continued protests from the DMK.

A DMK spokesperson, Saravanan, also weighed in, criticizing the police for denying permission for the students' wing protest and alleging that party workers had been detained.

Political Fallout

The episode has placed unusual strain on Tamil Nadu's still-young TVK administration, led by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, whose government had only recently launched a high-profile statewide anti-drug campaign. Critics noted the irony that the video controversy broke out on the very day the chief minister led the anti-drug awareness drive, with Sarathkumar himself having attended the campaign event hours before the backlash began.

Criticism has not come solely from the DMK. DMDK general secretary Premalatha Vijayakanth condemned the minister over the video, calling the footage highly objectionable and stressing that public representatives must conduct themselves appropriately, noting that although Sarathkumar was not a minister at the time the video was reportedly filmed, his current office meant the public would hold him to a higher standard.

Notably, the TVK party has sought to distance itself from the controversy, leaving the minister to deal with the fallout largely on his own, a sign that the ruling party may be wary of the episode's political cost.

As of the latest reports, the police complaint filed against Sarathkumar remains under review, no FIR has been confirmed as registered against him, and the minister continues to maintain his account of the incident. The DMK has signalled that further protests are likely if the government does not act on its demand for accountability.