Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration minister KN Nehru courted controversy when he shoved away a party worker who attempted to get close to newly inducted Youth Welfare and Sports minister Udhayanidhi Stalin at a reception held in Salem on Thursday, January 26. A video of Nehru stopping the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) cadre who attempted to shake hands with Udhayanidhi, and shoving him, went viral on social media.
Party cadres were seen greeting Udhayanidhi during a reception hosted by the party's Salem east district unit on his maiden visit as State minister, late on Thursday night. Thousands of DMK members gathered near the Thalaivasal bus stand to greet Udhayanidhi. The party workers prevented one of their members from presenting him with a shawl, apparently in view of an unmanageable crowd that kept coming onto the stage. When another worker extended his hand as if to shake the newly inducted minister's hand, Nehru was seen stopping and pushing him in the video.
The incident drew instant criticism from the opposition parties and BJP State chief K Annamalai commented that the DMK ministers have taken a pledge to beat up people.
Posting the video on his Twitter handle, Annamalai tweeted, "Looks like DMK Ministers have taken a pledge to beat up people. A minister throwing stones a few days back & another minister roughing up people now. All of these on a daily basis. Request @CMOTamilnadu to supply us protective equipment from here on to keep us safer!"
Looks like DMK Ministers have taken a pledge to beat up people.
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) January 27, 2023
A minister throwing stones a few days back & another minister roughing up people now. All of these on a daily basis
Request @CMOTamilnadu to supply us protective equipments from here on to keep us safer! pic.twitter.com/HNuB0bYXUV
Annamalai, in his tweet, referred to the actions of SM Nasar who hurled a stone at the party workers earlier this week. On January 24, Dairy Development minister SM Nasar hurled stones at the party workers over the delay in bringing chairs for him in the Tiruvallur district. He was inspecting the arrangements for an event that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin was to facilitate on January 25. Allegedly, he was upset about being made to stand for a longer period, due to which he bent down and picked a stone from the heap of clods, and threw at party workers, urging them to bring a chair. He can be heard yelling at the party workers while the functionaries behind him were seen laughing at his actions. The video went viral on social media and the minister received strenuous flak from opposition parties.
TN Minister Avadi Nasar hurling a stone at a party worker for the delay in bringing a chair for him. #Arrogance pic.twitter.com/1RqnxtS2UV
— Shabbir Ahmed (@Ahmedshabbir20) January 24, 2023
This is not the first time both ministers courted controversies. Nehru was caught on camera slapping a party councilor at an official function at Periamilaguparai, Trichy on January 6. In the video, Nehru was seen slapping Pushparaj, the councilor of ward 54, on his head while he was helping Nehru distribute stainless steel pots to the residents.
A few months ago, MK Stalin openly shared his concerns over the behaviour of the ministers, saying that he was spending many sleepless nights and waking up anxious to see which functionary would bring disrepute to the party. Despite his open statement, the ministers from his cabinet landed in controversies over their inappropriate behaviour in public.
Last year, the then Transport minister RS Rajakannappan was re-designated as the minister for Backward Classes Welfare, after he used casteist slurs to admonish a block development officer in Ramanathapuram district. A video had also emerged of the officer’s allegations against the minister, where he says that when he greeted the minister, the minister referred to him by his caste to dismiss him and threatened to transfer him.
Revenue Minister KSSR Ramachandran was also caught on camera assaulting a woman with a bundle of envelopes in July 2022. Ramachandran was seen hitting the head of Kalavathi, a resident from Palavanatham near Aruppukottai, with a bunch of envelopes. He was in Aruppukottai to distribute free goats to the beneficiaries. Later, Kalavathi claimed that "he didn't hit her, but only tapped her head with affection".
With input from PTI
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