The Tamil Nadu Police on Tuesday arrested Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin moments after a case was registered against him over a controversial remark that many have interpreted as referring to actor Trisha. The remark was made during a speech when Stalin was attacking Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay over the Cauvery water dispute.

The remark, which has universally been flagged as a sexual innuendo and as a reference to Vijay’s friendship with Trisha, has been widely condemned by all political parties in Tamil Nadu.

Following the remark, the Tamil Nadu Police registered a case against Stalin and a team of policemen was seen outside the leader’s residence in Chennai. Meanwhile, Stalin has moved the Madras High Court seeking anticipatory bail. The court is scheduled to hear Udhayanidhi’s plea in the afternoon.

Speaking to India Today’s Pramod Madhav during his detention, Udhayanidhi Stalin defended his remarks, saying, “I have not said anything wrong. Did I name anyone other than Vijay?” He termed the police action “vengeful” and, while being taken away in a police van, said, “let the court decide.”

The controversy erupted after Udhayanidhi, while addressing the gathering on the decades-old Cauvery water-sharing dispute, one of southern India’s most contentious inter-state river conflicts involving Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry, targeted CM Vijay over the government’s failure to secure Tamil Nadu’s share of Cauvery water.