Minister K.N. Nehru caught on camera slapping councillor at official function; says only ‘gently chided’ him
The Hindu
TIRUCHI
Tamil Nadu Minister for Municipal Administration K.N. Nehru has been caught on camera slapping a DMK councillor of the Tiruchi Corporation, T. Pushparaj, at an official function.
A video clip of the incident, which occurred on January 6 shortly after he declared open an overhead tank at a function at Periamilaguparai, surfaced on Tuesday. Tiruchi Mayor M. Anbazhagan, Collector M. Pradeep Kumar and Corporation Commissioner R. Vaithinathan were among those who attended the event.
The video clip showed Mr. Nehru slapping Mr. Pushparaj, councillor of ward 54, in the back of head when he is assisting him in distributing stainless steel pots filled up with water to Periamilaguparai residents.
In the footage, Mr. Nehru apparently asks Mr. Pushparaj to pass on pots filled up with water from a public tap so as to hand them over to the women, thereby symbolically indicating that their long-pending drinking water issue is sorted out with the construction of an exclusive overhead water tank in their residential locality.
Upset at the passing of a few empty pots during the process, Mr. Nehru slaps the councillor. Without showing any emotion, Mr. Pushparaj continues to lift filled-up pots and hands them over to the Minister. He thereafter interacts with the residents and proceeds to attend other functions.
When contacted, Mr. Nehru told The Hindu that the councillor attempted to get his blessing by touching his feet. “I did not like the gesture. Hence, I chided him gently. There was nothing more to it. I did not intend to disrespect or humiliate the councillor,” he claimed.
Pakistan coach Gary Kirsten stated that “not so great decision making” contributed to his side’s defeat to India in the Group-A T20 World Cup clash here on Sunday. The batting unit came apart in the chase, after being well placed at 72 for two. With 48 runs needed from eight overs, Pakistan found a way to panic and lose. “Maybe not so great decision making,” Kirsten said at the post-match press conference, when asked to explain the loss.