New Delhi: Congress MP Manda Jagannatham on Thursday issued an "unconditional apology" to the bank manager he was seen slapping hard on TV but said "the truth would come later".
"I have no personal grudge against Ravinder Reddy, the rural bank manager. It was an unfortunate incident. The truth would come later. However, I tender an unconditional apology to him to put an end to this," Jagannatham said in New Delhi.
The MP from Andhra Pradesh's Nagarkurnool Lok Sabha constituency arrived in New Delhi to attend Parliament's Budget Session, which began Thursday and also to meet party leadership to give his clarification on the incident.
He was seen on TV slapping hard Andhra Pradesh Grameen Vikas Bank (APGVB) manager Ravinder Reddy for allegedly not releasing loans to beneficiaries of government schemes who belong to the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).
Television footage showed the MP slapping the manager more than once. The incident took place Monday at Uppununtala in Mahbubnagar district.
The incident snowballed into a huge row with bank employees in Andhra Pradesh taking to the streets and demanding action against the politician.
"I was told that he was not disbursing the loan amounts to SC/ST beneficiaries. When I asked him for the reasons, he challenged me to come to the bank to settle the scores. He spoke very provocatively. I wanted to make him see reason. When I tried to put my hand on his shoulder, he pulled back. My hand happened to touch his cheek. It gave an impression that I slapped him," Jagannatham said in his defence.
On a complaint by the bank manager, police registered a case of assault against the MP.
A case has also been registered against the bank manager under the Prevention of Atrocities against SC, ST Act.
Jagannatham was expelled from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) last year after he voted for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government during the trust vote in parliament. He later joined the Congress and was re-elected from Nagarkurnool in the recent elections.
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