TIRUCHY:Siva Manivannan, son of DMK Rajya Sabha member Tiruchy Siva, on Tuesday accused his father of trying to sabotage his married life.
Addressing media persons along with his wife Jogi Prathyusha and mother-in-law Dr Premakumari Marshal, the MP’s son alleged that his father was indirectly trying to separate them because his wife was from a different caste and community.
Manivannan said he married Prathyusha, a Christian, in 2013 and this was resented by his father as they are Caste Hindus. Though Christian, Prathyusha belongs to a community considered on par Siva’s Caste Hindu sect.
Manivannan alleged that ever since the marriage, Siva had been trying to drive a wedge in the relationship by indirectly threatening his in-laws. “Everyone in our family accepted our inter-religion marriage. But my father has been opposing it indirectly since day one of the marriage. Of late, threatening calls are being made to my in-laws at the behest of my father. When asked, my father gets evasive,” he alleged.
The MP’s son, who lives in a separate house in the city, claims his father wants him to marry a girl from their community.
Manivannan, however, clarified that his intention was not to malign or jeopardise his father’s political reputation and said the sole of him taking the family dispute before media was to was to ensure safety of his pregnant wife and her family.
When asked why the issue was not brought to the notice of DMK leadership, Manivannan said, “I do not wish to make the family dispute political by approaching the high command. All I wanted was a solution so that my father lets us and my in-laws to live in peace. The threatening calls have been increasing with each passing day, and even police personnel are being used.”
When it was pointed out his two sisters had married oustide their caste and asked whether they too facing similar issues, Manivannan said the MP considers him as heir apparent, hence the pressure to get him a bride from within the community.
“Since Siva belongs to a party with progressive ideology, we thought he would accept the inter-religion marriage.
“But we believe the marriage has stirred difference of opinion between the MP and our son-in-law,” said Dr Premakumari Marshal, Manivannan’s mother-in-law.
Several attempts by Express to contact Siva, who was reportedly in New Delhi on Tuesday, for his reactions went in vain. But sources close to the DMK MP said Siva was well aware of the happenings back home.