Coimbatore MLA complains of threat calls

“But there was one call that caught me off guard. The caller spoke in a derogatory manner. He spoke ill of me and my family. I am sure AIADMK voters and youth will not stoop to this level to make offensive remarks about my mother, wife and sister,” Coimbatore South MLA Amman K Arjunan told reporters on Sunday. He alleged that the caller should be a DMK supporter and had been very abusive. 

Arjunan was one of the nine AIADMK MLAs from Coimbatore District. He was among the six who had voted for Palanisamy during the floor test, on Saturday. Amidst strong protests faced by AIADMK MLAs in many places in the State for not supporting for former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, the Coimbatore South MLA visited few places in his assembly segment before turning up at his MLA office near the District Collectorate. 

“People can share their suggestions and opinions with me. They can even ask me to vote for Panneerselvam. But they have no right to talk ill about my family. I even replied politely to another caller who hurled abuses at me over the phone, he said. He added that he had made a note of such callers and would lodge a police complaint against them and against those who had circulated defamatory statements against him in the social media. 

When questioned about why he had voted for Edappadi K. Palanisamy in the floor test, he said it was solely to protect the interest of the people. “They have given me five years to work for them. Had I voted against the party’s decision it would have affected the government and put people to lot of hardships,” he said, before adding that over 90 per cent callers appreciated him for his decision, on Saturday. 

When asked about fellow MLAs from Coimbatore District PRG Arun Kumar (Coimbatore North) and V.C. Arukutty (Kavundampalayam) and O.K. Chinnaraj (Mettupalayam) who were not supporting the new Chief Minister, Arjunan said that they are still friends with them. He said that the party was like a family and that disagreements happen between brothers in a family and that they would soon get together.

More than 100 women picketed the house of Salem South MLA AB Sakthivel at Gandhi Stadium in Ammapet and staged a protest raising slogans condemning him for not returning to his assembly segment for nearly two weeks. Agitated women said that their MLA was relaxing in a resort for 10 days while people of his assembly segment were suffering without drinking water and proper basic amenities. They asked him to resign from his position. 

Women also raised slogans condemning Mr. Sakthivel for voting for Edappadi K. Palanisamy as Chief Minister. The protest went on for close to an hour and they left after the city police pacified them.