Chennai: Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar has said he is ready to take voice test to check the authenticity of an audio that claims to be a conversation between him and the mother of a woman discussing ways to abort an unborn child.
The Minister said the audio clip was fake and part of a conspiracy to malign him.
“I will lodge a complaint against the circulation of the audio clip. I am also ready to undergo any kind of scrutiny needed,” he said.
The Minister also said the audio clip was the work of AMMK founder T T V Dhinakaran’s family.
The purported audio clip went viral on social media recently, with reports claiming that Jayakumar had impregnated the woman who came to him for a recommendation, forcing the victim to abort the foetus.
In the audio clip, Jayakumar could be heard asking the mother to get the unborn child aborted. As the mother tells him about his relatives who expressed the fear that he would abandon the victim after aborting the foetus, Jayakumar, in the clip, insists she visit him alone to discuss how the abortion can be done.
The Minister also assures the victim’s mother that he would speak to hospital authorities. He repeatedly insists she come alone despite requests to bring a relative along.
Following the audio leak, Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai came forward to support Jayakumar.
Questioning the authenticity of the audio, Thambidurai said Jayakumar wasa nice man and he would not indulge in such acts. “He was chosen by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa,” he reminded.
A case has been filed against Jayakumar with the National Human Rights Commission and National Commission for Women.