NDTV journalist Sam Daniel found himself at the centre of a political controversy after a social media post in which he complained about an alleged ₹800 bribe demanded by electricity board employees drew sharp reactions from netizens who questioned his record during the previous DMK government.
On 19 June 2026, Daniel tagged TVK Electricity minister CTR Nirmal Kumar on X and alleged that electricity board staff had demanded and received a bribe while attending to a power supply issue at his residential building in Alwarpet.
In his post, Daniel wrote, “@CTR_Nirmalkumar Sir, EB employees who fixed lift power supply issue at our building in Alwarpet demanded & received Rs 800 as bribe yesterday. They are clear. No Gpay. Only cash. There’s a need to create a helpline within EB department to report demand of bribes in real time. to ensure the work is not affected and action can still be taken against those demanding bribe.”
The post quickly attracted attention on social media, with several users welcoming the complaint and calling for action against corruption within government departments.
However, others used the occasion to question what they described as the selective outrage of sections of the media. It seems as if journalists who are now publicly highlighting instances of corruption under the present government were in deep slumber during the DMK regime and did not show the same level of scrutiny towards allegations of corruption during the previous government.
You are a senior journalist. How many stories you did on DMK corruption in the past five years ?
You are tagging EB Minister for 800 rupee bribe. Haven’t you paid a single rupee bribe in the past five years ? Whom did you tag ? Did you even whisper ?
Suddenly all the… https://t.co/LZYihCabkD
— Savukku Shankar (@SavukkuOfficial) June 19, 2026
Journalists who were quiet when ₹800 crore was looted are deeply concerned about ₹800 bribe. https://t.co/SLFAWpXfCG
— Sumanth Raman (@sumanthraman) June 19, 2026
Was this guy in coma when @arivalayam govt was in power??? https://t.co/yzARmsmUVH
— aadhivaasee007 (@aadhivaasee007) June 19, 2026
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