Am I the betrayer: Mallai Sathya breaks silence over Vaiko's attacks

CHENNAI: MDMK deputy general secretary Mallai CE Sathya has strongly refuted party general secretary Vaiko’s accusation that he betrayed him. With tears rolling down his cheeks during an interview, the senior leader, once considered a staunch loyalist of Vaiko, asked how he could call him a traitor.

In a statement, Sathya expressed anguish over Vaiko’s televised remarks on July 10, saying the comparison, saying that Sathya betrayed him like LTTE leader Prabhakaran was backstabbed by Mathaiya, was deeply hurtful. He questioned the fairness of equating his political differences with an act of treachery. “I ask those with a conscience. Am I a betrayer like Mathaiya? If I had acted against my leader, Vaiko, or betrayed him in any way, let the very moral code of Ilango Adigal’s Silappadikaram strike me down,” he said in a written statement.

Breaking his five-day silence, Sathya appealed to Vaiko not to unfairly accuse party workers. He recalled turning down the post of deputy general secretary in May 2023, citing internal issues, and said he accepted only on Vaiko’s insistence. Sathya claimed he had been subjected to humiliation over the past three years by a few within the party and was disillusioned by the leadership’s silence.

In his recent appearances in the UK representing MDMK, he noted that he continued to speak with pride about the party and Vaiko. However, he said public criticism by Durai Vaiko forced him to respond.