Speaking at a wedding ceremony he recently attended, Thirumavalavan, the leader of the VCK and an MP, had criticized the DMDK, saying, "When the constituencies for parties that have traveled with the DMK for a long time were reduced, and a party that suddenly joined the alliance was given an unexpectedly large number of constituencies, would that have pleased the parties that were already there? The responsibility for maintaining goodwill and harmony with alliance partners lies with the party that leads." In this context, when DMDK general secretary Premalatha Vijayakant met reporters on September 16, she was asked about Thirumavalavan's remarks.
Responding to that, he said, "Brother, a ministerial post was given to the Vanni government. That is why you changed alliances. Isn’t that the truth? You could have been like the Communists, couldn’t you? What you wanted was a ministerial post. You won two seats. Since one of them got a ministerial post, you went there. Why are you dragging the DMDK into this for that? Don’t keep changing your words. It is the DMK and its leadership that must decide. If you look at it that way, even Brother Stalin gave you the two constituencies allotted to you as extra seats. Can we ask for that? Why didn’t we speak about that?
Therefore, taking a different stance and blaming someone else is a very, very wrong act. I hope brother Thirumavalavan will not do that. I think he will not speak about it anymore. If he speaks about it again, it will become like the story, “Even after falling face down, no dirt stuck to my moustache,” he had said sharply. It was in this context that yesterday, Thirumavalavan, the leader of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, who came to attend a wedding ceremony held in Cuddalore, paid homage by garlanding the statue of Periyar near the Anna flyover.
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Speaking to reporters then, he said, “The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi will campaign in support of the candidates contesting on behalf of the TVK alliance in the by-elections for the Madurantakam and Dharapuram constituencies. VCK will work hard for the victory of the alliance candidates in that election. I made some remarks on the basis that the DMK should subject itself to self-criticism. Otherwise, it was not my intention to level allegations against the DMDK. It was I who welcomed and explained the fairness when ten constituencies were given to the DMDK. I have no problem with that.”
When I said that the parties that were with the DMK suddenly ran off for positions and were branded traitors, I had made some comments from the angle of whether that was the only reason for those parties to leave... whether there were no other reasons... I had only asked, 'When the DMDK suddenly came into the alliance, would the other parties have felt only happiness?' I did not comment from the angle that the DMDK was brought into the DMK alliance and given 10 seats. But Premalatha Vijayakant seems to have understood it as if I was criticizing the DMDK. I do not want to oppose her view," he said.
Speaking earlier at the wedding ceremony, he said, "VCK has today evolved into a ruling party. We may not have the recognition of a Chief Minister. But VCK is a party that is part of the cabinet. It has grown into a party that can share governing power. That is causing jealousy in many people. They are hurling slander. We must move even faster toward our goal, overcoming those criticisms. We must evolve into a ruling party with firm strength. A bright opportunity for that is coming toward us," he said.