MDMK leader Durai Vaiko apologises for alleged attack on journalists in Tamil N’s Sattur

Chennai: MDMK leader Durai Vaiko on Thursday apologised for an incident involving his party workers allegedly roughing up mediapersons during a coverage of the party event in Sattur in Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar district.

At a meeting of the MDMK for Tirunelveli mandal on July 9 held in Sattur, which was addressed by MDMK chief Vaiko, a section of journalists reportedly recorded videos of empty chairs at the meeting venue and this resulted in an argument between party workers and reporters, resulting in the mediapersons getting roughed up.

"Thousands of people gathered in the hall for the meeting. Vaiko started speaking at 8 pm and after an hour, the electricity went out, and as a result, the party members left the hall. He resumed his speech after power was restored," Durai claimed.

It was well known that Vaiko maintained cordial ties with journalists, Durai said in a statement here.

"For democracy to flourish, freedom of the press must be maintained and protected. I express my deepest regret to the press and media friends, both personally and on behalf of the party, for the incident that took place in Sattur," the Tiruchirappalli MP and MDMK’s principal secretary said.