On 25 July 2026, Kayalvizhi Alagiri, daughter of former Union Minister MK Alagiri and granddaughter of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, allegedly slapped the manager of a State Bank of India’s NRI branch in Chennai’s Adyar, as reported in NDTV. The incident, captured on CCTV, showed Kayalvizhi mimicking the manager’s posture before striking him across the face during an argument over a malfunctioning lift in the commercial building she owns.
On Camera, Ex-Union Minister’s Daughter Slaps SBI Branch Manager In Chennai
Read more: https://t.co/Olg38adgA8 pic.twitter.com/rF9Rp9Ispj— NDTV (@ndtv) July 25, 2026
A case has been registered against her under sections 296(b), 329(4), 115(2), and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The video has gone viral. Major news outlets across the country have all reported on the incident.
But one outlet that has historically been among the first to report on bank-related language disputes has gone silent: The News Minute (TNM).
A Pattern of Coverage
To understand why this silence is significant, consider TNM’s track record. The outlet has aggressively covered bank-related controversies, particularly when language issues are involved:
In September 2020, TNM was among the first to report on an Indian Overseas Bank manager in Ariyalur who allegedly refused a loan to a customer for not knowing Hindi. The report was widely shared and sensationalised, contributing to the manager’s immediate transfer.
In October 2021, TNM published an extensive piece on how “Hindi imposition in the banking sector has left Kannadigas disadvantaged,” citing multiple instances where customers struggled to access banking services due to language barriers.
These reports fit TNM’s editorial DNA: defending regional language rights, scrutinising public sector banks, and holding authority figures accountable. So why the silence on the Kayalvizhi case?
The DMK Question
The answer lies in TNM’s well-documented partisanship. Over the years, the outlet has repeatedly been a “digital mouthpiece” for the DMK.
The pattern is stark:
When BJP or Hindu groups demand film cuts, TNM denounces it as “fascist censorship.” But when the DMK government pressured filmmakers to cut scenes from Empuraan over Mullaperiyar dam references, TNM was “conspicuously silent”.
When the Centre withholds education funds over Tamil Nadu’s refusal to implement the three-language policy, TNM calls it a “threat”. But when DMK’s critics were arrested under the state’s Social Media Monitoring Centre, TNM had zipped its mouth.
When the Centre returned Tamil Nadu’s Metro DPR for technical clarifications, TNM’s “Let Me Explain” series framed it as “rejection” and “anti-Tamil” bias, conveniently omitting the three-page list of technical flaws flagged by the central government.
The Selective Silence
Applying this pattern to the Kayalvizhi case reveals an uncomfortable truth: reporting on this incident would mean holding a member of the DMK’s first family accountable.
Kayalvizhi is not just any politician, she is the granddaughter of Karunanidhi, the daughter of a former Union Minister, and a former MLA and Minister herself. Reporting critically on her actions would embarrass the DMK. And for an outlet that relies on access and goodwill from the ruling party, that is a risk not worth taking.
This silence is all the more glaring given TNM’s own history of defending bank employees, when the story served its narrative. In 2020, the outlet helped amplify the IOB manager controversy, painting the Maharashtra-born officer as arrogant and insensitive. The manager was transferred, his career disrupted – all based on a customer’s claims that multiple outlets failed to scrutinise.
Now, when the accused is a DMK stalwart’s daughter, the same outlet that once championed the rights of bank customers and Tamil-speaking citizens has nothing to say.
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