DMK slams Palaniswami for his 'DMK flag' allegation in car chase case; alleges accused from AIADMK

Chennai: DMK leader and Law Minister S Regupathy has demanded to know whether AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami would apologise for levelling a baseless allegation against his party over the East Coast Road car chase incident, as an accused in the case has admitted in a video clip doing rounds in the social media, that he belonged to an AIADMK family.

Citing the video aired by some television channels, Regupathy, in a post on 'X' said that those who tried to carry on with selfish politics by alleging a DMK flag in a SUV of the accused and using it to make allegations against his party were now exposed. Chandru, who was arrested in the case, has confessed to his AIADMK family background. A video clip in which he admits this has been released by the media, he said.

With the accused himself admitting that he had nothing to do with the DMK and that his was an AIADMK family, the Minister wondered what explanation AIADMK and other opposition parties had now to offer. "Will Edapadi Palaniswami tender an apology?" Regupathy asked.

In a video clip doing the rounds on social media, Chandru, one of the accused in the car chase incident on the East Coast Road could be heard purportedly saying that his uncle is an office-bearer in the AIADMK and grandfather too was an AIADMK man. However, Chandru said he was not connected to any political party and using a party (DMK) flag in the SUV had become a "big issue." He, further, claimed that none of them was drunk on the day of the incident. The reason for using the ruling party flag was to avoid remittance of fees in toll plazas, he claimed.

The date of the video could not be ascertained immediately and Chandru was arrested on February 1. He is said to be a key suspect and one of the five men arrested in the East Coast Road car chase incident. Police are on the lookout for two more persons involved in the case.

DMK organisation secretary RS Bharati had told reporters that Chandru, one of the accused, who had been arrested was from the AIADMK, and he also slammed Palaniswami for blaming the DMK for all incidents of crime in the state.

Palaniswami, the leader of opposition had on January 29 asked if the "ruling party identity such as a DMK flag is a licence" for committing crimes against women. Also, he had demanded to know if the police would act at a snail's pace and belatedly if the accused were DMK persons. Further, he had said that the incident on the East Coast Road, an arterial state road, showed complete spoiling of the law and order situation by the DMK government.

Last month, a video clip went viral on social media that showed some women in a car being chased and intimidated by men in a SUV with a "DMK flag." Allegedly, two vehicles were involved in that crime against women and both the SUVs had been later seized by the police.