AIADMK Dalit MLA marries Brahmin girl; father alleges daughter was kidnapped

AIADMK MLA from Kallakurichi A Prabhu’s marriage with a 19-year-old Brahmin girl has landed in a controversy with the bride’s father complaining that his daughter was abducted by the legislator.

The MLA, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste, had married S Soundarya at a simple ceremony in the presence of his family members on Monday amid drama as the girl’s father attempted to self-immolate outside the venue.

Swaminathan, the father of the girl who works as a priest at a temple in Thiyagadurugam, 235 km from here, in the newly-formed Kallakurichi district, has also moved the Madras High Court accusing Prabhu of abducting his daughter. The court will hear the petition on Wednesday.

With her father maintaining that she was kidnapped, Soundarya released a video message on Tuesday afternoon saying her marriage with the MLA took place with her “consent” and that she was neither abducted nor threatened.

“I and MLA Prabhu have been in love for the past four to six months. Since my parents objected to my relationship with Prabhu, I stormed out of my house and has now married him. The marriage took place with my consent and not because of any threat. I was neither abducted nor threatened,” the 19-year-old said in her message.

The girl’s father said that the family opposed the marriage not because of the groom’s caste but due to the age difference between the two. The first-time legislator is 36-year-old, while the girl is just 19. Prabhu was close to Soundarya’s family for the past 10 years and had enjoyed a good rapport with them and that is how the couple came to know each other.

Prabhu told Deccan Herald that his father-in-law was “being tutored” by someone and is making “baseless allegations” against him and his wife Soundarya. The legislator said the family has not been able to conduct any post-wedding ritual due to the controversy owing to allegations raised by Soundarya’s father.

The MLA further said though he had known Soundarya for the past 10 years, their relationship began only a few months ago. “The girl’s family did not accept our relationship, but the wedding took place with the consent of my family members. My wife is an adult and she took the decision consciously. To say I abducted her is absurd,” the legislator said.

On allegations levelled by his father-in-law, Prabhu said: “Why should I lie? If I lie, people will find out. And this is the social media age where things can change in just a fraction of second and that is the power of the media. Everyone saw what happened on Monday. It is only because of the allegations we are attending phone calls instead of spending time with each other.”