NIZAMABAD: A day after a clip of Nizamabad Congress candidate T Jeevan Reddy purportedly slapping a woman labourer in Govindpet village of Armoor mandal, she ‘issued a clarification’ that the former MLC didn’t assault her. She said the Congress leader asked her to vote for the party to enjoy the benefits of government programmes.
The woman, who didn’t give her name, told reporters on Saturday that Jeevan was being unnecessarily blamed.
The Congress candidate had visited Govindpet village on Friday as part of his election campaign, where he engaged with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGREGA) labourers at their work site. During the interaction, the woman labourer expressed her grievances to Jeevan, mentioning the lack of land or garden to grow crops apart from the non-disbursal of monthly pensions. She also said she would vote for the ‘flower’ symbol. In the video, the Congress nominee is reportedly seen getting angry and then telling her to vote for the hand symbol.
Meanwhile, a video showing Jeevan slapping the woman on her cheek went viral on social media, leading to criticism from one and all. On Saturday, the woman labourer ‘clarified’ to the media that Jeevan did not slap her but merely touched her cheek. She emphasised that the incident was being misconstrued and misrepresented by others.