CHENNAI: VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan on Tuesday said he was aware that in Tamil Nadu, even after another hundred years, a person from the Dalit community becoming Chief Minister might remain only a dream, while clarifying that neither the DMK nor the AIADMK had officially approached him regarding speculation over efforts to project him for the post.
In a statement, Thirumavalavan said journalists who met him earlier in the day had asked whether the Congress had thwarted attempts to make him Chief Minister. Replying to the question, he had said he, too, had received information that such discussions had taken place.
He clarified that some of his close friends had spoken to him about the issue, but neither the DMK nor the AIADMK had officially approached him, and he himself had not held talks with anyone.
“Unverified reports have been appearing in the media since yesterday and today. It was only in that context that I responded to the journalist's question. But presenting it with a different meaning and creating sensationalism is not media ethics,” he said.
Thirumavalavan further said the “bitter truth” was that Tamil society was still not prepared to accept a person from the Dalit community as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
He pointed out that Dalit leaders had served as Chief Ministers in States such as Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Punjab.
“At the same time, in the present political climate, it was said that such discussions had taken place. Therefore, I replied to a media person’s question saying ‘I too received information’. It is painful that some media organisations are twisting it with ulterior motives and giving it a different meaning,” he added.