CHENNAI: Widespread protests erupted across Tamil Nadu on Tuesday following the arrest of former Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin.

The leader of the opposition was taken into custody from his residence in Neelankarai, Chennai, this morning by a police team from East Thanjavur. His arrest immediately triggered protests by DMK cadres, disrupting normal life in several parts of the state.

In Karur, DMK members staged a sit-in protest near the old bus stand.

Party workers also blocked roads in Tiruvannamalai to condemn the police action. Similar protests were held in Salem and Madurai. In Thanjavur, protesters burned an effigy of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay in protest against the arrest.

The political friction led to the detention of other leaders, as well. In Theni, police arrested senior DMK leader O Panneerselvam while he was participating in a protest condemning Udhayanidhi's arrest.

Tamil Nadu Minister for School Education and Tamil Development Rajmohan alleged in a post on X that DMK members had attacked members of the public.

"The sight of DMK members brutally assaulting a two-wheeler rider who urged them not to block the road and inconvenience the public is shocking," he wrote.

Calling the incident unacceptable, the minister said the "law will do its duty."

The controversy stems from a demonstration led by Udhayanidhi in Thanjavur on August 3 over the Cauvery water dispute.

During the protest, the DMK demanded that the ruling TVK take decisive steps to stop Karnataka's proposed Mekedatu reservoir project, waive farmers' loans in full, and declare the delta districts drought-hit.

During his address, a section of the crowd chanted actor Trisha's name. Udhayanidhi responded with a remark that political opponents, including state BJP leaders and the TVK, condemned as an objectionable double entendre.

Following the speech, a TVK national spokesperson submitted a representation to the National Commission for Women, seeking its intervention, an unconditional public apology from Udhayanidhi, and the registration of a police case under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.