DMK leader M K Stalin kicked up a controversy on Thursday by slapping a co-passenger during his maiden ride in the newly inaugurated Chennai Metro train.
A video clipping, purportedly showing Stalin slapping a co-passenger, taken by a fellow rider has gone viral and brought condemnations from various leaders, including AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha.
On Wednesday, Stalin boarded the Chennai Metro Rail with his senior party cadres for a jolly ride. The video showed Stalin, who preferred to stand, interacting with the passengers.
He was suddenly seen slapping a passenger with the back of his palm and asked him to move away.
“Media has telecast this. This (incident) is highly condemnable. It is also unfair for an MLA to do something like that. All are equal in public,” Jayalalitha said, hoping that the DMK leader will not behave that way in public again.
She also alleged that Stalin rode the metro only to gain political mileage.
Stalin, on the other hand, denied having slapped the passenger, while admitting that he inadvertently touched the man’s face as he asked him to move and make way for women passengers.
“Since he trampled a woman’s leg, I asked him to move away”, he said adding that it was during the jolt his hands touched his face. “It was not deliberate,” he said.
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