VCK suspends Aadhav Arjuna for dynasty remark on ally DMK; he remains defiant
The son-in-law of lottery mogul Santiago Martin, Aadhav Arjuna is in the eye of a storm for targeting the DMK
VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan and VCK deputy general secretary Aadhav Arjuna
CHENNAI: Days after the party's deputy general secretary Aadhav Arjuna's controversial 'monarchy' remark targeting the ruling DMK at a book launch event, VCK founder-president Thol Thirumavalavan on Monday announced his suspension from the party for six months.
The son-in-law of lottery mogul Santiago Martin, Aadhav Arjuna is in the eye of a storm for targeting the DMK. "The disciplinary action against Arjuna was for acting in a manner that was detrimental to the party's interests and credibility and for setting a poor precedent for the party's members," said Thiruma.
Though his actions appeared to serve the party's interests and welfare, they attracted severe criticism that could jeopardise the party's reputation, said Thiruma, hinting at Arjuna's targeted attack against DMK youth wing leader and Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin.
Thiruma also clarified that Arjun had been dissuaded from discussing politics at the book launch. However, he made disparaging remarks. "He gave an explanation over the phone. Since it was not convincing, the party has decided to proceed with the high-level committee's decision to suspend him for six months," he said.
However, Arjuna responded to the party's disciplinary action against him by stating that he remains firm in his conviction and will continue his journey until the party's slogan 'share in power and governance for the Dalits and oppressed sections of society' comes to fruition.
The disciplinary action is the culmination of the political storm triggered by Arjuna's disparaging remarks against the party's ally, the DMK, which leads the Secular Progressive Front. While Arjuna putting forth the demand for a share in power was seen as asserting the ideological standpoint of the VCK, his 'dynasty' remarks left the party, one of the founding members of the alliance, in an embarrassing situation.
Aadhav Arjuna crossed the line, says Thiruma
The VCK chief said he had, ahead of the book launch event, conveyed to Arjuna to avoid talking politics in the function and confine himself to revolutionary leader Dr Ambedkar and the background to the book.
At a function here on December 6, which marked the release of the book 'Ellorukkumana Thalaivar Ambedkar,' (Ambedkar, a leader for all) by TVK founder-president, actor Vijay, Arjuna made the 'monarchy' comment. In the same event, Vijay also sharpened his attack on the DMK and accused the ruling party of being arrogant, as it has been maintaining that it would win 200 seats out of the total 234 Assembly segments in the 2026 Assembly polls.
With simmering tensions within the party and between the allies (the VCK and the DMK) further escalating, it was Thiruma's turn to iron out differences. Meeting the Chief Minister to hand over a cheque for Rs 10 lakh for Cyclone Fengal relief work, Thiruma clarified, "We had advised Aadhav Arjuna many times to maintain the party's discipline, which is essential to uphold the party's rules and regulations. However, he crossed the line and made statements against the DMK and its government. This is totally against our party's interests and credibility. This led to the disciplinary action against him."
The high-level committee, comprising the party president and general secretaries, deliberated on December 7 to assess the impact of Arjuna's actions and how it caught in quicksand. "As he breached party discipline and continued to act adversely, the committee initiated disciplinary proceedings," said the Chidambaram MP.
