Chennai:
Tamil Nadu Minister for Human Resources Management D Sarathkumar found himself at the centre of a controversy on Friday after an old video from an Indian Premier League (IPL) match went viral on social media, with many users interpreting the footage as showing him in possession of a narcotic substance.
In the video, Sarathkumar is seen using an ATM card to crush a white powder-like material on the screen of a mobile phone. A Rs 500 currency note is also visible. The clip, which carries the tagline “Thug Life”, was originally shared by the minister as an Instagram story a few years ago, visible only to close friends.
It has now resurfaced and gone viral.
The minister, a first-time MLA from Tambaram on the outskirts of Chennai, was appointed to the cabinet last month in the government led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay. The video emerged on the same day that Vijay participated in a marathon to promote sports and urge people to stay away from drugs.
Several viewers, including supporters of the DMK, claimed the minister appeared to be using drugs. The clip prompted calls for his resignation on social media.
Sarathkumar responded by releasing a two-minute video clarification alongside his wife and young daughter. He stated that the incident occurred about two years ago at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, also known as Chepauk Stadium, in Chennai, during an IPL match.
Sarathkumar claimed that the family went to the match with friends. At the time, his daughter — who was a toddler, around one-and-a-half years old — was unwell, he claimed.
His wife had tried to give the child a tablet, but the baby was refusing it and spitting it out. A doctor had advised crushing the tablet into powder and mixing it with liquid to make it easier for the child to consume. Sarathkumar claimed he was the one who instructed that the tablet be crushed.
The minister described the resurfacing of the video as the result of a “wrong rumour” spread with “malicious intention”. He noted that one of his friends had shot the video at the time.
DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai, in a post on X, said that the footage is “eerily similar to how people snort drugs”.
“CM Mr. Vijay is already on a warpath against drug menace. Isn’t his duty to clarify the doubt that’s cast upon his minister. The people of TN should not be left in a lingering doubt about the integrity of Mr. Sarath,” the post read.
