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TN minister charged with
pushing around woman

After Coimbatore and state minister Pongallur Palaniswamy, it is the turn of Arur town in neighbouring Dharmapuri district and Tamil Nadu Information Minister Mullaivendan.

While Palaniswamy has been charged with assaulting a senior party colleague and legislator with a sandal, Mullaivendan reportedly pushed around a rival woman AIADMK cadre in public.

This incident too was connected with the DMK's three-day state-wide campaign against AIADMK supremo J Jayalalitha.

Jayalalitha had told her party general council last fortnight that she would send DMK Chief Minister M Karunainidhi for a life-time in prison after the state assembly polls, when she vowed, she would return to power.

Protesting against this, the DMK organised state-wide rallies and demonstrations, and it was at one such meeting at Arur that this incident occurred.

A section of the crowd protested when Mullaivendan passed some remarks against Jayalalitha and her erstwhile AIADMK regime. While policemen on duty did not take the cue to silence the protesters, the minister alighted from the dais and approached the restive audience. The ministerial camp claims that he had only gone down to pacify the crowd and enquire what they had in mind.

In the melee, the crowd got the impression that he was about to assault, Kaveri, who had raised her voice when the minister was on the dais earlier. The minister was jostled around and in the melee someone pulled his shirt.

Mullaivendan later returned to the dais with a shirt that was slightly torn and a crowd that was more restive.

AIADMK cadres later organised a road roko, demanding action against the minister.

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