Chennai: Nearly a week after singer Chinmayi Sripaada and several other women accused him of sexual harassment, veteran lyricist Vairamuthu on Sunday released a statement on video dismissing the allegations as “utterly false” and made with “ulterior motives”. He also declared readiness to face any court case if filed by the women.
In the short video he released on twitter, Vairamuthu claimed he had collected “unassailable evidence” in his defence and said should anyone choose to go court against him, “I am only waiting to face them (in court)”. Interestingly, he did not threaten legal action himself.
“Allegations levelled against me are totally false, motivated”, said the lyricist, adding that he had in-depth discussions in the past week with senior lawyers and intellectuals on this issue.
Asking people not to judge him, he said, “None should decide if I am a good or a bad person. Let the court decide. I will bow to the court's verdict.”
Shortly after his robust video declaration, Chinmayi delivered a counter punch tweeting: ‘Vairamuthu should take a lie-detector test. Enough said’.
Perhaps Chinmayi was referring to the heap of allegations that had poured in over the last few days about Vairamuthu, even from women now settled abroad recalling their harrowing experiences. He had responded to the initial onslaught by posting a short tweet on Wednesday saying in Tamil that the “uncivilised act of spreading falsehood about well-known people is becoming fashionable across the country”. He also said in recent times, he was being humiliated repeatedly. “This too is one of those instances. I am not concerned with anything other than the truth. Time will tell the truth”, said that tweet. Meanwhile, over 200 members of the Carnatic music community have come out in a joint statement for ending the “deafening silence”surrounding accounts of sexual harassment and abuse and called for following “due process”through civil
society investigations into the allegations.The statement, which was shared by musician TM Krishna on Twitter, also highlighted that the responsibility of the community is the need of the hour, especially when several names from the Carnatic music scene have been called out in the wake of India's #MeToo movement. “Over the past few days, we have all read many disturbing accounts of sexual harassment, abuse and assault, including from within the Carnatic music community. Many such instances in the past have been brushed under the carpet, subsequently creating a culture of silent complicity”
