MADURAI
A former Corporation councillor of the AIADMK, Raja S. Srinivasan, on Thursday lodged a complaint with Madurai City police seeking criminal action against Forest Minister ‘Dindigul’ C. Sreenivasan for his ‘defamatory remarks’ against former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Monday.
In a petition addressed to the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Srinivasan, who is also Madurai urban district deputy secretary of Puratchi Thalavi Amma Peravai, said hundreds of party cadre were greatly pained by the Minister’s comment against Jayalalithaa.
During a public meeting held at Vedasandur recently, the Minister allegedly said that 18 MLAs were betraying the AIADMK by taking from Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader T.T.V. Dhinakkaran the money that was “looted by former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa”. However, the Minister later denied having made any statement against the former Chief Minister.
“The Minister has made a baseless statement with an ulterior motive that has shocked me. He became an MLA and a Minister only because of Jayalalithaa. A ruling party man, that too a Minister, is making such a statement,” Mr. Srinivasan, a staunch supporter of Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, said.
Stating that the Minister’s speech was a crime in the eyes of law, he said the Minister should be booked under Sections 499, 500, 503 and 504 of the Indian Penal Code (for making defamatory speech, criminal intimidation and causing intentional insult to provoke breach of peace).
Mr. Srinivasan was accompanied by a Supreme Court lawyer, V. Krishnamoorthi.