Kamal Hassan, the president of Makkal Needhi Maiam allegedly attacked a journalist with his cane yesterday at a polling booth.
Coimbatore: In Coimbatore, journalists and cinematographers have been covering all the events attended by Kamal Haasan, the president of Makkal Needhi Maiam, since the day the election was announced.
Yesterday, when Kamal Haasan came to visit the polling center set up at the Government Engineering College campus in Coimbatore, he was being video graphed by Mohan, a journalist from Sun News.
But in an attempt to avoid being photographed, Kamal Hassan stabbed Mohan in the area between the neck and chest with a cane in his hand.
Fortunately, in this attack, journalist Mohan was not seriously injured, but it could have been worse if the tip of the cane had slipped off his neck.
The Coimbatore Press Club today slammed Kamal and said, "Although all this is not unknown to Kamal Haasan, from a cinema background, we must point out to him that this is not your acting, but a problem in life. For you to do such an act knowing the person was a journalist has caused great shock among the Coimbatore press. This is the culmination of opportunism and authoritarianism."
The Coimbatore Press Club has also warned the Coimbatore South candidate that he will face a legal backlash for this. "We urge you to get rid of this alienated feeling of being an actor and become aware of the realities of the field. Seeing you behave like this to one of us gives us doubt about you reaching out to the public. First, behave like a normal human before being a full-time politician," the club commented.
On behalf of fellow journalists, the club has warned Kamal Haasan about this and urged him to make a public apology to Mohan.