High drama at Salem council meet as DMK councillor slaps opposition leader

COIMBATORE: Salem Corporation council meeting took a tense turn when a DMK woman councillor slapped the opposition leader on Thursday.

While the meeting was under way, the opposition leader from AIADMK N Yadavamoorthy blamed irregularities in awarding work orders for various projects to those who quoted higher bids during the tender process. He alleged irregularities at the behest of Minister for Tourism R Rajendran.

His allegations triggered an argument, and DMK councillors gheraoed the opposition leader in protest. Out of the blue, DMK Ward 45 councillor Suhasini slapped him, resulting in a clash between the ruling and opposition party councillors.

Soon, the seven AIADMK councillors led by Yadavamoorthy staged a sit-in protest in front of Mayor A Ramachandran, who then suspended the meeting and left the hall.

The protesting councillors were joined by Salem South MLA E Balasubramanian, ex-MLA G Venkatachalam, and other party functionaries demanding the removal of Suhasini from the council and initiating criminal action against her high-handed behaviour. They withdrew the protest around 5.30 pm after Corporation Commissioner M Elangovan held talks.

However, Suhasini claimed that she slapped, "Only for self-defence when Yadavamoorthy shrugged away my hands. I asked him not to blame the Minister during every meeting and only speak on the issues." Suhasini and Ward 35 councillor M Pachiammal were admitted to the Salem Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and Hospital claiming that they were injured in the assault by AIADMK councillors.

Further, opposition leader Yadavamoorthy and Ward 25 AIADMK councillor M Sasikala fainted during the protest and were admitted to the hospital for treatment.