Chennai Mayor R Priya has accused the TVK government of failing to act on her complaints about alleged online abuse and edited videos targeting her, saying the attacks were affecting her personal life and could discourage women from entering politics.
In a video posted on social media, Priya said she had complained to the city police commissioner about the circulation of allegedly misleading videos but that no action had been taken so far. She said she filed another complaint on Tuesday after fresh content targeting her appeared online.
Priya alleged that edited videos were circulated on platforms including Facebook and X whenever she criticised the TVK government over administrative lapses. According to her, the material was damaging her public image and affecting her personal life. She did not provide details in the statement about the specific complaints, the content of the videos or the action sought from the police.
Questioning the government’s commitment to women’s safety and rights, Priya asked why Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay had remained silent despite her repeated complaints. She said alleged online attacks against women in public life were condemnable and could create fear among women aspiring to enter politics.
The mayor also linked the issue to wider disagreements over the functioning of the Greater Chennai Corporation. She alleged that several civic works undertaken by the corporation had been cancelled or kept on hold since the TVK government assumed office in May. Priya further claimed that funds meant for the corporation had not been released.
She said the DMK had raised objections to these decisions at various forums. The source report did not provide details of the projects allegedly cancelled or held up, the value of the funds involved, or a response from the state government, the chief minister’s office, the city police or the Greater Chennai Corporation.
Priya also referred to an incident at a public meeting involving a DMK woman councillor. She said DMK deputy general secretary Kanimozhi had reprimanded the councillor over remarks made at the meeting and that DMK district secretary P K Sekar Babu had intervened. She contrasted those responses with what she described as the TVK leadership’s failure to condemn alleged misconduct by its functionaries and supporters.
The mayor questioned whether the chief minister or any of his ministers had publicly reprimanded TVK functionaries over similar incidents. She alleged that online abuse was being used to demean women and said the issue raised questions about the treatment of women in public life.
Despite what she described as online attacks and the lack of action on her complaints, Priya said she would continue working for the public. She added that she had the support of the DMK leadership and Chennai district party functionaries. No police or government response to her allegations was included in the supplied report.
