CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu PWD minister Aadhav Arjuna has issued a legal notice to former chief minister and DMK president M K Stalin seeking to tender an unconditional apology and pay Rs 1 crore as damages for portraying ‘drug trafficking mastermind’ John Britto as his close relative. In the 10-page notice addressed to Stalin and DMK IT wing, Arjuna has insisted that the unconditional apology must be published in Tamil and English through the social media accounts of the IT wing and Stalin and in widely circulated Tamil and English dailies besides television channels. Arjuna has given Stalin a 48-hour deadline to comply with his demands, failing which he would take civil, criminal and other legal proceedings, the notice said. The notice has been issued through his counsels A P Suryaprakasam and R Mohan Parthasarathy. The issue pertains to a social media post posted by Stalin on June 8 calming that “as per a press release of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), John Brito, who acted as a mastermind behind drug trafficking operation involving narcotics worth Rs 258 crore seized in Chennai and Ramanathapuram, is a close relative of Aadhav Arjuna.” Claiming that the statement is wholly false, fabricated, malicious and devoid of any factual basis, Arjuna has said that John Brito, alleged to be involved in drug trafficking by the ED, is not his relative. The allegation has been published without any verification, supporting material and in complete disregard to the truth, he has said.
