Udhayanidhi Stalin of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Friday, 16 October 2026, accused Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay of having the name of the ‘Naan Mudhalvan’ scheme covered up at the Periyar Knowledge World in Coimbatore, according to ANI, NewsBytes and the Asianet Newsable report. The centre, also called Periyar Arivulagam, was built at a cost of Rs 290 crore under the previous DMK government’s ‘Dravidian Model’, according to The Federal’s account.
Mr Udhayanidhi’s allegation is specific. The name ‘Naan Mudhalvan’ was engraved on pyramid-shaped computer desks in the science and technology hall of the complex, and it has been covered up, according to the reports. He said that those who habitually ‘stick their own labels’ on his government’s schemes had ‘gone as far as covering up the name Naan Mudhalvan’, and described Mr Vijay as ‘cheap’ and ‘obsessed with sticking his own labels’, according to ANI’s headline and the reports.
He also asked a pointed question. He asked whether the word ‘mudhalvan’, meaning ‘first’, which echoes ‘mudhalvar’, the Tamil word for chief minister, reminds them only of their party leader, or whether they do not want students to become leaders in their fields, according to the reports. The word play depends on that echo, which is general background.
The occasion was the opening of the centre by Mr Vijay, which The Federal described as a DMK-TVK face-off, with the DMK alleging a cover-up of the scheme. Naan Mudhalvan was a skills scheme of the previous DMK government, according to general background, and the reports reviewed do not describe its current status.
The DTNext headline on the subject says that new chief ministers cannot erase ‘Mudhalvan’, which reflects the DMK’s framing, according to the headline alone. IndiaX24 has not opened the article.
The reports reviewed contain no response from the Chief Minister, his party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam or the state government to the allegation. They also do not say whether the name was covered intentionally, or whether the desks had been covered for another reason such as a protective sheet. IndiaX24 therefore reports the allegation as the DMK’s claim and has not verified it.
The row is about credit for a public project. The Periyar Knowledge World cost Rs 290 crore, according to The Federal, and the claim is about whose name is associated with a facility that was largely built under the previous government. That is a recurring feature of Indian politics when governments change, though the reports reviewed do not cite other examples from Tamil Nadu.
The reports describe Mr Vijay as Chief Minister and Mr Udhayanidhi as attacking the government, which implies that the DMK is now in opposition. IndiaX24 has not covered the Tamil Nadu election in this series and does not describe the new government’s programme.
The exchange is an example of the sharp tone between the two parties. ‘Cheap’ is a strong word for a chief minister, and the reports reviewed do not say whether the TVK has replied in kind.
IndiaX24 will report if the government or the TVK responds.
Image: Udhayanidhi Stalin addressing a gathering (file photo). Photo by Vishwa Sundar, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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