CHENNAI: A day after he was stripped of the party deputy general secretary post, on Saturday, senior DMK minister K Ponmudy tendered 'repeated' apologies for his 'vulgar' remarks made at a meeting of Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK) here recently.
In a statement circulated by the DMK headquarters, Ponmudy said, “I extend my heartfelt apology for my speech consisting of 'wrong' choice of words and 'inappropriate' meaning at an in-camera meeting organised by TPDK.”
“I felt instant regret over expressing those inappropriate thoughts. I deeply regret the slip on my part despite being in public life for so long. I regret that my speech hurt many people and put them to shame. I express my apology again and again to people whose feelings I had hurt,” said Ponmudy.
Ponmudy was sacked from the DMK deputy general secretary post hours after his 'vulgar' speech went viral, triggering political backlash with opposition AIADMK even announcing a protest on April 16 against him.
On Friday, DMK deputy general secretary and state WRD minister Duraimurugan also expressed regret over the use of an archaic term to refer to differently-abled people in one of his recent speeches.