DMK MP sends legal notice to NDTV, India Today for 'offending' reportage on Udhayanidhi
Notice seeks unconditional apology from media houses, removal of contentious videos and Rs 100 crore in damages
DMK MP P Wilson has issued a legal notice to NDTV’s managing editor Shiv Aroor and India Today’s senior editor Akshita Nandagopal, reportedly on behalf of the Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, Udhayanidhi Stalin, over the reportage on the latter in the controversy involving actress Trisha.
‘Smear campaign’
“On behalf of Hon. Leader of Opposition Thiru Udhayanidhi Stalin, we have issued legal notices to Thiru Shiv Aroor of NDTV and Tmt Akshita Nandagopal of India Today for orchestrating a smear campaign and manufacturing a controversy by misquoting the Hon. LoP’s speech on the Cauvery water protests at Thanjavur,” Wilson’s son, Richardson Wilson, a lawyer and managing partner at P Wilson Associates posted on X.
Also read: Udhayanidhi’s alleged Trisha jibe: When does a double entendre become crime?
Wilson also shared the legal notice in his post.
DMK seeks apology, Rs 100 Cr damages
The notice sought an unconditional and public apology from the media houses for speech/allegations against Udhayanidhi, as well as the removal of the videos and broadcasts containing the alleged defamatory content. It also demanded damages of Rs 100 crore, which Udhayanidhi, according to the shared notice, said will be donated to the farmers who have suffered losses due to non-release of Cauvery water.
Also read: Udhayanidhi arrested: AIADMK, Left slam speech; DMK, allies cry vendetta
The noticees have been requested to respond within 48 hours of receipt.
The controversy
Udhayanidhi, the former deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu and DMK chief MK Stalin’s son was arrested on Tuesday (August 4) and questioned for his alleged “double-meaning” remark alluding to actress Trisha at a farmer’s gathering in Thanjavur. He was later released on bail.
Following his release, Udhayanidhi rejected the allegation and said he spoke in a "single-meaning" manner, demanding Cauvery water for the state.
Also read: As DMK-TVK slugfest rages over Udhayanidhi, farmers ask: What about Cauvery water?
The DMK leader denounced what he called the alleged use of the "cut, copy, paste" method of distortion for his arrest and claimed he was taken like a terrorist by police.
The arrest of the DMK top leader on the eve of the commencement of the Budget session of the Assembly triggered widespread protests from party cadres.