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DMK MLA J John Ebenezer has been accused of attacking people of his constituency, R K Nagar, after they questioned his alleged inaction during the recent flood crisis in Chennai.
In an 18-second video trending on social media, Ebenezer was seen being questioned by the residents. The video also showed a man with blood injuries after DMK members allegedly attacked him for confronting the MLA.
“The public here was angry that none of the elected members, like councillors or the MLA, visited them when their houses were flooded, and they were struggling without food or water. When the MLA came on Sunday, they questioned him, and this led to an altercation. The MLA also engaged in this fight. A man got injured, and he was taken to the Government Stanley Hospital,” a resident said.
The DMK MLA added the injured person’s sister is a member of AIADMK and based on her directions, a group of AIADMK supporters gathered there to disrupt the programme and engaged in verbal abuse when he reached the spot for the relief programme.
The video showed the area in a tense situation, and a few raised slogans against the ruling DMK government and even staged a roadblock demanding the MLA to apologise.
However, the DMK MLA has rubbished all the allegations. Speaking to Indianexpress.com, Ebenezer said this was all staged drama by the main opposition, AIADMK.
“We were planning to provide relief materials in two areas on Sunday. We completed distributing one at Netaji Nagar, and we were on the way to Sunnambu Kalvai. Around 1 pm, a man in an inebriated condition kept disturbing the programme. Despite the organisers informing him that they would deliver the relief materials to his home and asking him not to disturb the arrangements, he kept doing that,” said Ebenezer.
“After a while, he started abusing and later attacked an elderly member of our party. Our members pushed him from the spot, and he later got into an argument with a set of auto-rickshaw drivers who attacked him, causing injury. However, it was projected as if we had beaten him,” he added.
The DMK MLA added the injured person’s sister is a member of AIADMK and based on her directions, a group of AIADMK supporters gathered there to disrupt the programme and engaged in verbal abuse when he reached the spot for the relief programme.
Ebenezer claimed that neither he nor any of his party members attacked the public.
“This was a planned protest. AIADMK and BJP leaders are informing their supporters to raise issues like these wherever DMK organises these flood relief measures. We had been on the ground for all five days, taking all possible measures to help the people.”
“This was done deliberately and the video was edited and pushed on social media to divert the public’s attention from the stampede incident earlier when Edappadi K Palaniswami came here for relief. A 14-year-old girl died due to this, but the opposition wants to divert the issue, and hence, they are spreading this video,” he added.
On Saturday, A 14-year-old girl collapsed and fell due to a seizure while her mother was waiting in queue to collect relief materials distributed by the AIADMK in Thiruvottiyur. The girl, identified as V Yuvashree, later died in a hospital.
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