SALEM: A woman DMK councillor slapped the opposition leader during the Salem Municipal Corporation (SMC) council meeting on Thursday, leading to confrontation between the members of the ruling party and the AIADMK. During the monthly meeting, opposition leader N Yadavamoorthy accused the corporation of awarding contracts to contractors who had submitted higher bids instead of those who had quoted lower prices. He said this had happened due to the influence of tourism minister R Rajendran.This allegation provoked the DMK councillors, who surrounded him and argued with him. Suddenly, DMK ward 45 councillor Suhasini slapped Yadavamoorthy on his cheek, causing him to stumble and fall.AIADMK councillors came to his aid. Clashes erupted between DMK and AIADMK councillors. Amid the turmoil, mayor A Ramachandran and commissioner M Elangovan suspended the meeting and exited the hall.AIADMK members conducted a sit-in protest in front of the mayor’s office demanding the removal of Suhasini from the council. Salem South MLA E Balasubramanian joined the protest in solidarity with AIADMK members. The MLA told reporters that the incident showed the peak of DMK’s misconduct. “Assaulting the leader of the opposition party is unacceptable,” he said. He insisted that the woman councillor should be dismissed.Meanwhile, Suhasini alleged that Yadavamoorthy had assaulted her. Later, she was admitted to Salem Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and Hospital for treatment. TOI’s attempts contact the mayor and the commissioner for their comments were unsuccessful.