“Subhasri died because the banner fell due to the wind. The guy who erected the banner didn’t push it down and kill her. If anyone has to be booked, it’s the wind.”
This was a statement made by AIADMK veteran leader Ponnaiyan, in an interview with News 7.
This was in reference to the incident on 12 September 2019. Twenty-three-year-old Subhasri was run over by a water tanker after an illegal AIADMK banner threw her off her scooter. After more than 15 days, former AIADMK councillor Jayagopal, who had erected the flex banner for a family wedding, was arrested.
C Ponnaiyan is one of the founding members of Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and is a four-time member of the Tamil Nadu legislative Assembly from Tiruchengode constituency. He has served as ,inister of Finance, Education, Industry, Agriculture, Cooperation, Highways, Transport, Law and IT.
In an earlier interview with The Quint, Subhasri’s father, Ravi, questioned why an incident as grave as this hasn’t prompted the ruling party to ensure that illegal hoardings are no longer erected.
He said that AIADMK or Jayagopal’s representatives hadn’t reached out to the family so far. “Had they (AIADMK) filed an affidavit, then we can trust them. But because they aren’t filing one, I have my doubts that they could cause yet another accident,” said her father Ravi.
He said that others, including DMK and film stars like Kamal Haasan, have promised to say no to the illegal banner menace by filing affidavits at the Madras High Court.
On Thursday, the Madras High Court allowed banners to be installed from Chennai Airport to Mahabalipuram. Both the Centre as well as the Tamil Nadu government had appealed the court to erect hoardings across the city to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping for bilateral talks on 11-13 October.
In response to the court order, Subhasri’s mother had appealed to Prime Minister Modi to set an example by saying no to banner culture. “Flex boards and banners are not the only way to welcome a political leader. There are many other ways. I don’t think PM would be happy by only seeing the banners,” she had said.
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