Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader and MP Thol Thirumavalavan found himself in a tight spot on Saturday with a Coimbatore-based divorcee, S Kavitha, alleging that he had reneged on a “promise” to marry her after a two- year relationship. She also released photographs showing the Dalit leader comfortably interacting with her and her adopted toddler.
Late in the evening, VCK spokesperson Vanni Arasu issued a statement rejecting Kavitha’s allegations and accused her of mudslinging and misusing friendly association with the party chief for her personal gains.
Kavitha, incidentally, made the allegations against Thirumavalavan while interacting with journalists soon after she met Police Commissioner A K Viswanathan to lodge a property grabbing complaint against a VCK cadre, Karthi, whom she described as a close acquaintance of Thirumavalavan.
A resident of Ramanathapuram in the city, she claimed to have got introduced to the Dalit leader while on a visit to New Delhi two years ago. “We got into a relationship and after Thirumavalavan promised to marry me, I divorced my husband. However, now he is reneging on his promise by citing caste considerations,” she said.
Her immediate provocation for ‘exposing’ Thirumavalavan was an alleged attempt by Karthi and his relatives to grab a property.
Kavitha claimed that Karthi, a building contractor, had threatened her to transfer ownership of a land in Kasturi Bai Nagar near Ganapathy, where she was running a nursery school from 2005 to 2009, to his name by holding her adopted daughter at knife-point. Kavitha further alleged that the accused were acting at the behest of Thirumavalavan and sought protection.
In the statement, Arasu said Thirumavalavan had attended the birthday celebration of Kavitha’s adopted daughter two years ago honouring her invitation for the simple reason that she had invited the Dalit leader despite being a Caste Hindu.
“Though Kavitha later approached Thirumavalavan to donate money for the party’s move to start a television channel, he refused to accept it.They did not have any contact for the last one-and-a-half years,” Arasu said.
He alleged Kavitha was misusing the party name and letterhead to further her business plans and the leadership had warned her. “She had once called up Thirumavalavan’s driver to sort out her problem with Karthi but he made it clear that the party leadership would not intervene in civil disputes. That’s why she has raised the allegations,” he alleged.