In an embarrassing incident for the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam(AMMK) chief and RK Nagar MLA TTV Dhinakaran, a group of voters from his constituency greeted his entry to the locality by waving Rs 20 notes at the leader.
According to a report in The Hindu, this was an attempt by the group of women who gathered near the Vaidhyanathan bridge to remind their MLA of promises unkept. During the RK Nagar elections in December last year, ground reports had revealed that TTV Dhinakaran had offered cash for votes, during the campaign. It was also widely alleged that his team had given voters Rs 20 notes which they could then exchange for money. However, many residents had complained at the time that they had only received their token i.e. the Rs 20 note and not the money.
According to a report in TNIE, Dhinakaran was visiting Kadimedu Power Kuppam to inaugurate a drinking water stall for the public. According to one of the women quoted by the newspaper, “One day before the bye-election, we were given Rs 20 each as tokens with the promise that we can exchange them for Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000, if we voted for Dhinakaran. The supporters also told us that they were unable to give cash as they were under police surveillance and promised that we would be paid whenever he (Dhinakaran) visited the constituency. It has been more than four months since then and yet we have not been given the promised money.”
However, Dhinakaran ended up blaming the protest on his AIADMK rival in the elections as well as the police. According to a report in the Times of India, the MLA reportedly said, “I never made such a promise nor did any of my supporters. It must have been E Madhusudhanan who organised a group of people to protest. The police should have acted fast. How can such a protest be allowed? If our party people decide to hit back, won’t that lead to law and order problems?”