Chennai Corporation councillors on Wednesday exchanged blows after councillors belonging to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) levelled allegations of scam against the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
The clash was sparked when a group of DMK councillors started arguing with Mayor Saidai Duraisamy who said DMK was a “party noted for scam.”
A few minutes earlier, the Mayor had pointed to statements made by former deputy chief minister M.K. Stalin on civic works underway in the city and said they were baseless. He also said “the DMK leader is noted for scam”. The DMK councillors led by Subhash Chandra Bose then tried to persuade the Mayor to expunge remarks on DMK party leaders and the party.
“The Mayor levelled allegations against our leader and Kanimozhi. We pointed out there was a scam by AIADMK leaders. We asked the Mayor to expunge the remarks as it was against rules,” said P. Gunalan, a councillor from Alandur.
As the DMK members started protesting, the Mayor warned some of them of suspension for three months if they continued to disrupt the meeting. Meanwhile, a large number of AIADMK councillors encircled the DMK councillors, leading to the tussle.
Two councillors fell on the floor, before the police intervened. One of them was Mr. Bose, who was attacked by a group of AIADMK councillors. “I do not remember who attacked me. The attack was unexpected. We asked the Mayor to expunge the remarks on leaders who were not present at the council meeting,” he said.
Within minutes, the situation was brought under control. No councillor was injured.
As the DMK councillors walked out of the council hall, Mr. Duraisamy said a decision on suspending the DMK councillors would be made later.
