CHENNAI: Hazeena Syed, the Congress party’s official candidate in Krishnagiri constituency, who was later substituted by another candidate, has accused TNCC president KV Thangkabalu of threat and intimidation.
Speaking to reporters at the Sathyamurthi Bhavan after talks with the TNCC chief and AICC secretaries, Shanta Ram Naik, Krishnamurthy and Vijayalakshmi, here on Tuesday, Hazeena said she was summoned to the party headquarters and asked to withdraw her candidature.
“Thangkabalu threatened me that if I did not oblige, I would be removed from the party,” she alleged. Also, the TNCC leader did not give any valid reason for his demand, she said.
“The party nominated me. Then, they announced another person for Krishnagiri. He did not file his nomination papers. Now, they want me to withdraw my candidature. Is it fair?” she asked.
Asked about her next course of action, Hazeena said she would not take back her nomination. “I am not going to withdraw. I will fight as the Congress nominee,” she said, adding that she would meet DMK president M Karunanidhi to seek the cooperation of his party cadre in Krishnagiri.
However, Thangkabalu flatly denied Hazeena’s charge. “All the representatives of the party high command know what happened in this room. Neither did I threaten her, nor do I have such a necessity,” he said. Asked who will be the official candidate now in Krishnagiri, he reiterated that the AICC top brass would decide on it.
Meanwhile, Krishnagiri district Congress president N Kasilingam on Tuesday said that the TNCC had not communicated anything about the party candidates contesting in Krishnagiri district to the District Congress Committee.
“Even the candidates announced by the party high command have not bothered to meet the committee,” Kasilingam said, adding: “Even if Thangkabalu could not meet the district president, he should have sent a communication to discuss with the district committee about the selection of candidates in the district.”