A new political controversy erupted in Tamil Nadu on Saturday after Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) general secretary TTV Dhinakaran accused actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) of using a “forged” letter of support and an allegedly AI-generated video to claim support for AMMK MLA Kamarath S.
At a press conference, Mr. Dhinakaran launched a fierce attack on TVK and questioned the authenticity of the footage released by Mr. Vijay’s party. “There is arrogance and hatred in TVK,” he said, adding that he was “shocked” to see a TV report claiming that AMMK MLAs had extended support to Mr. Vijay.
Dhinakaran repeatedly questioned who shot the video that purportedly showed MLA Kamaraj signing the letter of support. “Who shot the video of AMMK MLAs? Vijay, Bushi, Sengo, Venkatraman or CTR Nirmal Kumar? Where did you shoot that video?” he asked.
He claimed that the video released by TVK was a fake generated by AI. Mr. Dhinakaran also claimed that the letter of support submitted by TVK was not the original signed by the MLA.
“If that is true, let him (TVK chief Vijay) hand over the video and the original letter to the governor. What is this, handing over a forged letter!” Dhinakaran told ANI.
The AMMK chief further questioned why Mr. Vijay did not personally take MLA Kamarath to meet Governor Rajendra Alrekar if the MP had truly expressed support for TVK.
“If the MLAs were extending their support to TVK, why didn’t Vijay take them to the governor?” he asked, accusing TVK of “trying to create chaos” within the NDA-AIADMK alliance.
Dhinakaran claimed that he believed that after initially submitting the letter, TVK could later pressure MLAs to formally support the party. “They thought it was a single MLA. After giving the letter, they were able to blackmail him and get his support,” he claimed.
“It is the fate of Tamil Nadu that if they (TVK) come to power, Tamil Nadu will face a lot of problems,” Dhinakaran said in sharp remarks that were both warning and irony.
He also said he had already filed a complaint with both the governor and the police regarding the matter.
The controversy began after Dhinakaran rushed to Lok Bhawan on Friday and submitted a letter to the governor seeking “correction of the record” after a letter claiming AMMK’s support for TVK went viral.
However, TVK strongly denied the claim that the support letter was forged. The party released a video in which AMMK MLA Kamarath is seen allegedly writing a letter and extending support to Mr. Vijay’s party.
“These are the videos of AMMK MLA Kamaraj spontaneously and happily writing a letter expressing support to the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam. He said that he will extend support to the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam with the approval of AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran,” TVK said in a statement.
TVK also accused Mr. Dhinakaran of spreading false information while concealing facts related to the issue.
Meanwhile, Dhinakaran reaffirmed that AMMK’s only MLA-elect Kamaraj S remains loyal to the NDA-AIADMK alliance. He reiterated his support for AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) as the chief ministerial face of the alliance.
The political tug-of-war comes as TVK struggles to secure enough support to break through to its 118-seat majority in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly. Mr. Vijay’s party won 108 seats in the elections and has support from the Congress, which has already won five seats, and the CPI and CPI(M), which have secured two seats each.
The battle for numbers has now turned into a battle over signatures, videos and, according to Dhinakaran, even artificial intelligence, making post-poll politics in Tamil Nadu look more and more like a political thriller with tech-related intrigue.
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