TENKASI: A video footage that purportedly shows DMK's Shengottai Union Secretary coercing TASMAC staff to display Chief Minister MK Stalin's portrait instead of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa's at an outlet, went viral on social media on Wednesday.
In the video, Ravishankar, the DMK functionary, is seen asking the TASMAC staff why Stalin's portrait was not displayed at the outlet in Shengottai even several months after the DMK came to power.
"Who is in power now, the DMK or AIADMK? You have displayed a photo given by AIADMK MLA Krishnamurali. Can't you put up the Chief Minister's photo? You should have displayed our leader's photo here as soon as the DMK government came to power," Ravishankar added.
Similarly, an audio clip of a conversation between Ravishankar and the liquor shop's supervisor, Subramanian, is also being widely circulated on social media. During the conversation, Subramanian confesses to collecting an extra Rs 5 from customers for each liquor bottle.
When contacted, Ravishankar told TNIE, "I visited that liquor shop 20 days ago. But the audio and video clips of my visit have been leaked now for political reasons as the local body elections are nearing. I visited the shop as I received complaints that the staff there were overcharging customers. The sale of liquor in cartons to individuals from this shop had led to four fatal accidents recently. Women here have already demanded shutting down of the outlet."
Requesting anonymity, a senior TASMAC official told TNIE that he had advised Subramanian to file a police complaint against Ravishankar for barging into the shop.
"We are also planning to initiate disciplinary action against the supervisor for overcharging consumers," he added