MK Stalin denies slapping man onboard Chennai Metro, Jayalalithaa condemns incident

Chennai: In an incident that is bound to draw a lot of criticism, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) treasurer MK Stalin was on Wednesday caught slapping a man onboard the newly-launched Chennai Metro Rail services.

As per a video which came to the fore on Thursday, Stalin is seen slapping a man while taking a ride on the Metro. The passenger, reportedly a party worker, who was standing alongside Stalin, was then asked to move from there. However, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has condemned the incident.

Video footages of Stalin allegedly slapping a passenger in a metro train yesterday have gone viral. 

Stalin today denied slapping the passenger, adding that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was making a mountain out of molehill.

"I did not slap him, I only gestured him to move away from a woman whose feet was being trampled by the passenger. My hand (inadvertently) touched his face while gesturing," Stalin told news agency PTI when asked on the issue.

"Jayalalithaa didn't attend the opening of Metro rail project. So, to divert people from that, she is accusing me of slapping a passenger," another news agency ANI quoted Stalin as saying.

Jayalalithaa said in a statement that Stalin travelled in the train on Wednesday only to score political points and gain publicity.

"He slapped a passenger in the train and the same has been published by the media. This is condemnable and is unbecoming of a person who is a member of Legislative Assembly," she said.

She said Stalin should realise that in public places, everybody has equal rights and nobody is inferior to another.

Stalin was accompanied by his supporters and travelled from Koyambedu to Alandur.