The DMK has issued a legal notice to TVK MLA M R Pallavi, who represents the Thiru Vi Ka Nagar constituency, demanding an unconditional apology over alleged defamatory remarks against party members.
The notice, dated June 6, was sent by advocate and DMK spokesperson Saravanan. A copy has also been served to YouTube’s Resident Grievance Officer at Google LLC.
The dispute centres on a video interview featuring Pallavi on a local channel, later uploaded to YouTube and circulated widely as a Shorts clip across social media platforms, including X, Instagram, and Facebook.
According to the notice, the anchor questioned Pallavi about recurring power cuts in Chennai’s Kolathur constituency and nearby areas. In response, Pallavi allegedly made several “false imputations”, claiming that DMK members were behind the recent outages and had bribed officials of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board to undermine the TVK government.
The notice further cited her allegation that TVK workers in Royapuram had uncovered efforts by DMK members to use money and influence to deliberately trigger power disruptions.
Calling the allegations "completely baseless" and unsupported by evidence, the DMK said the remarks had harmed the reputation of its cadres, fuelled political hostility, and caused "irreparable damage to the reputation, credibility, and public image of DMK party members”.
The party has asked both the MLA and the media outlet to issue an unconditional apology across all social media platforms within 24 hours of receiving the notice.
It has also sought the immediate and permanent removal of the full interview, the Shorts clip, and any related content from all social media handles under their control.
The notice warned that failure to comply within the stipulated 24-hour period would compel the party to pursue civil and criminal legal action against those involved, seeking costs and damages.
(With inputs from PTI)