JOIN US In a new turn in the family drama of one of the famous business conglomerates in South India, M A M Ramaswamy, Chairman Emeritus of Chettinad Group of Companies, today said disowned his adopted son M A M R Muthiah and ruled out any settlement with him.
He also refused to give him any share in his property.
"He (Muthiah) is not my son. He will not be neither my own son nor my adopted son. There is no relation between him and me. You have heard about (the phrase) blood is thicker than water. That is how he will be to me forever," Ramaswamy told reporters at a packed conference here.
The family feud in the Rs. 10,000 crore Chettinad Group that has business interest across various verticals like cements, hospitality, education, came to the fore recently after Ramaswamy was not elected as a Director in the AGM of Chettinad Cement Corporation, the group's flagship company, last year.
It turned ugly on May 23 at the Chettinad Palace spread across 125 acre land in posh M R C Nagar here when fourteen alleged henchmen of an assistant of Ramaswamy were arrested for locking a room of Muthiah.
In a bid to reach out to his father, Muthiah said he was ready to resolve differences with him.
Ramaswamy said he was not ready to settle differences with M A M R Muthiah at any cost.
"I have few days left (in my life). These people (referring to his assistants) will be there to look after me till my last journey. He (Muthiah) betrayed me. Don't trust him", Ramaswamy said.
He was accompanied by his cousin and another city-based industrialist A C Muthiah, Chairman of SPIC Group