A video of the district Collector of Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram, B Vishnu Chandran, being pushed and falling down while trying to break up a fight between supporters of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has gone viral on social media. The incident occurred on Saturday, June 17, as the Collector tried to intervene in a quarrel between supporters of Tamil Nadu Minister for Backward Classes Welfare Raja Kannappan, and Ramanathapuram MP from IUML, Nawaz Kani.
Two two leaders were invited to an event organised at a private school to distribute prizes to winners of the Chief Minister’s Trophy sports meet in Ramanathapuram. The video shows the Collector falling down after someone places their hand on his chest, following which security personnel were seen helping him get up.
Speaking to the media about the incident, IUML MP Nawaz Kani said that the school had invited both him and Raja Kannappan to participate in the event at 3 pm. But when he reached the venue, he said that the prizes were already distributed. When Nawaz questioned why the prizes were distributed before he arrived, the officials and Collector Vishnu Chandran said that the distribution was done earlier than planned, as the Minister had to leave for other engagements.
This is the general public discourse of the DMK alliance behind the screens. DMK Minister Thiru Raja Kanappan & IUML MP Thiru Navas Kani are in a public brawl.
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) June 17, 2023
Unfortunately, the District collector trying to douse the fire was pushed down. Everything about the DMK regime is… pic.twitter.com/0NelKeWm81
According to The Hindu, the officials were apologising to Nawaz as Raja Kanappan asked him to calm down, which is believed to have irked his supporters. Nawaz’s supporters reportedly created a commotion, saying the MP had been insulted. The situation escalated as supporters of the MP and the Minister began pushing each other. Collector Vishnu Chandra, who tried to de-escalate the situation, was caught in the middle and he was pushed down as well. Nawaz Kani has reached out to Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu regarding the incident and sought action, The Hindu reported.