TNCC chief B Manickam Tagore on Wednesday defended TVK legislator Arul Vignesh regarding allegations that he sent obscene and harassing text messages to a woman district collector in Tamil Nadu, saying the charges against the Kallakurichi MLA have not been proved.
It was for the MLA to respond, and it was unfair to conduct a media trial based on WhatsApp messages, he said.
"Arul Vignesh is an innocent guy (Arul Vignesh paavam). Nothing has been proved against him so far. It is shocking to see how some people react blindly based on unverified information circulating on WhatsApp," Tagore told reporters at Sathyamurthi Bhavan, the party's state headquarters here, downplaying the allegations.
However, Congress MP S Jothimani had sought appropriate action against the MLA if the charges against him are proved.
At the press meet, Tagore said Vignesh was being targeted without proof.
The opposition parties have accused the Kallakurichi MLA of "sending obscene messages" to the woman district collector and for turning up at her camp office in an inebriated condition.
Vignesh has already denied the allegations, and the ruling TVK has convened a meeting of the party MLAs and office bearers to discuss the allegations of misconduct by its legislators and also the alleged assault of a citizen by Deputy Speaker M Ravishankar (Thuraiyur MLA), who had raised a civic issue with the MLA.
A video of the incident went viral, leading to political outcry.
Tagore expressed shock over how quickly other leaders reacted merely to unverified information circulating on WhatsApp.
(With inputs from PTI)