MIC president S Samy Vellu today put an end to speculation that he will 'embrace' his one-time protege and party deputy presidential candidate S Sothinathan after the MIC elections.

"No, never," he said when asked on talks among some MIC delegates aligned to Sothinathan that Samy Vellu would 'accept' him (Sothinathan) no matter what the outcome would be on Sept 12.

samy vellu exclusive on tamil schools 080708 06 Samy Vellu said he had never 'secretly' endorsed Sothinathan for the deputy president's post.

He also chided Sothinathan for confusing the delegates by telling "different stories to different people" just to garner votes from them.

"I am the one who brought him into the party when he was just a staff of Koperasi Pekerja Jaya. He has forgotten that and now when he meets people who don’t like me, he will tell them to get rid of me.

"But when he meets my supporters, he tells them that I am like a father to him and that they (my supporters) should vote for him," he told Bernama in an interview here today.

Sothinathan, 49, the incumbent vice-president, is in a three-cornered fight for the number two post with incumbent G Palanivel and former deputy president S Subramaniam.

Samy Vellu who has endorsed Palanivel for the post, said politics was not a game but an important institution that must be respected.

'One man show'

"There is no room for people who are not serious and take the members for granted," he said.

ijok by election mic campaign 250407 sothinathan The MIC chief said if not for him in appointing Sothinathan as party secretary-general, he (Sothinathan) would not have had close contacts with the delegates and branch chairpersons.

Samy Vellu said he did not expect Sothinathan to be grateful to him but only wanted him not to hoodwink the delegates and party members into believing that he was "Samy Vellu's man."

"He is what he is today because of me. Without me, he will not have been a member of Parliament for Teluk Kemang, a parliamentary secretary and a deputy minister.

"He is somebody today because of me and today, he is using that (position) to smear my name and the work I have done for the party," Samy Vellu said.

The president said he had wanted to build team players within MIC but Sothinathan wanted to play a "one man show."

"As far as I am concerned, when a person whom I have brought up deceives me, I will take him off from my mind and many of MIC members and branch chairpersons know this," he added.