Stalin along with DMK MLAs and legislators of its allies wore black badges in the assembly on Thursday to protest the passing of the bill in the Lok Sabha in the early hours of Thursday with a 288-232 vote after a 12-hour debate. BJP’s MLAs walked out in protest against Stalin’s speech. Stalin contended that passing the bill at 2 am in the Lok Sabha with help from some alliance partners, despite opposition from a majority of parties, was an attack on the Constitution of India.

“A majority of the political parties in India opposed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. It is condemnable that the bill has been passed in the Lok Sabha despite the strong opposition to it. Though the bill has been passed, we should not overlook the number of votes against it…. This is an attempt to disturb communal harmony in the country. Let me tell this House that the DMK will challenge the bill in the Supreme Court,” Stalin said.

Also read: Rajya Sabha passes Waqf (Amendment) bill a day after Lok Sabha nod

He recalled that on March 27, the assembly had unanimously passed a resolution urging the Union government to withdraw the bill entirely, which was supported by all parties except the BJP. On April 2, while the Parliament saw a showdown between the government and the opposition over the bill, Stalin wrote to PM Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to protect the Muslim community and the Waqf institutions.

“The State of Tamil Nadu is in the forefront of protection of the rights of Minorities, who live in harmony and religious amity in the State,” Stalin said. “However, the proposed amendments to the Waqf Act, 1995 have not taken into consideration the constitutional protection given to Minorities and are bound to severely harm the interests of the Muslim community.”

Tamil Nadu’s main opposition, the AIADMK, which backed the DMK on the resolution against the bill, offered its support on Thursday as well. “The AIADMK will support the ruling party in its efforts on this issue,” AIADMK MLA S P Velumani said.

BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai criticised Stalin for using the assembly for theatrics. “All this drama is to save a portion of their minority vote bank,” Annamalai said. “DMK will make this an election plank and misguide innocent Muslims in the 2026 assembly and 2029 parliament elections. DMK only knows to Deceive & Divide.”

Stalin announces statues for Karl Marx, Thevar

In the assembly on Thursday, Stalin also announced that the government will erect a statue of German philosopher Karl Marx in Chennai. “Marx’s The Communist Manifesto was translated in Tamil by the father of the Dravidian movement, Periyar (E V Ramasamy),” said Stalin.

“Marx’ ideologies form the bedrock of many global revolutions and for many changes witnessed by the world. It was based on the ideal of equal opportunity for all that we decided to present the 2025 state budget on March 14 — Marx’ death anniversary,” he said.

The chief minister also announced a memorial for Forward Bloc leader PK Mookiah Thevar ahead of his 103rd birth anniversary on April 4. A structure for him will be built in Madurai’s Usilampatti, where he was born, he said. Expelled AIADMK leader and former chief minister O Panneerselvam (OPS) welcomed the announcement as he also belongs to the Thevar community, a dominant caste group in southern Tamil Nadu.

Stalin writes to Modi on Katchatheevu

A day after the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly unanimously passed a resolution urging the Centre to retrieve the Katchatheevu islet from Sri Lanka, Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, pointing out that the origin of the problem is the Indo-Sri Lankan Treaty (Katchatheevu Agreement) in 1974.

Stalin urged the PM, who will be in Sri Lanka from April 4-6, to speak to the Lankan government to ensure that all the imprisoned fishermen are released along with their boats on a goodwill basis. “The frequent apprehensions of our fishermen and seizure of their boats in large numbers have put the lives of coastal communities in a state of permanent anxiety and distress. The livelihood of the fishermen has also become uncertain due to the arrests and seizures,” the CM said.