This morning, a Forbes article was making the rounds in social media alleging that Sridhar Vembu had abandoned his wife and autistic son in the US.
Pramila, the estranged wife of Sridhar Vembu, the co-founder and CEO of Zoho Corporation, a software company that offers cloud-based business applications, has filed a lawsuit against him, claiming that he transferred his ownership of Zoho without telling her. She alleged that he abandoned her and their special needs son and is keeping them from receiving their fair share.
In response to these allegations, Sridhar Vembu shared a tweet thread where he denied all the allegations and says that he never transferred his shares in the company to anyone else. He also said that these allegations were unfounded and that he had been supporting his wife and son financially all the while. The matter is currently before a US court.
1/ With vicious personal attacks and slander on my character, it is time for me to respond.
This is a deeply painful personal thread. My personal life, in contrast to my business life, has been a long tragedy. Autism destroyed our lives and left me suicidally depressed.
— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) March 14, 2023
In the deeply personal thread he shared on Twitter about his son’s autism and how it affected his marriage and his life, he said that he and his wife fought against autism for over 15 years and that he supported her in her cause of curing their son. He also said that he took some of the treatments that their son underwent to ensure his safety.
2/ My wife Pramila and I were in this fight against autism for over 15 years. She is a super mom and her passionate cause is curing our son of autism. I worked hard along with her. To ensure his safety I also took some of his treatments so I could know what they did to him.
— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) March 14, 2023
However, he said that their marriage collapsed due to their different views on their son’s future and that autism left him suicidally depressed. He also mentioned how his estranged uncle, whom he allowed to stay at his California house on compassionate grounds owing to his terminal cancer, has been the cause for the mess that has unfolded now.
In the meantime, the Dravidianists and DMK functionaries left no stone unturned in demeaning Sridhar Vembu over his personal tragedy.
Tamil Nadu State Deputy Secretary of the DMK IT Wing, Isai shared multiple tweets belittling Vembu.
அதே டெய்லர் அதே வாடகை! – @annamalai_k & கைலாசா நித்தி 🤣 pic.twitter.com/oSQUwd8rxh
— இசை (@isai_) March 14, 2023
He shared a screen recording of a Google search of the words Sridhar Vembu Vikatan which brought out many articles on Vembu and claimed that these articles were all planted and propaganda material for him.
He retweeted tweets that intended to humiliate Vembu at such a time.
He shared a tweet that said “Sanghis who speak nationalism” and shared a Sun TV tweet that spoke about the allegations made by Vembu’s wife.
தேசபக்தி பேசும் சங்கிகள்! pic.twitter.com/ZhJMgQrFWg
— இசை (@isai_) March 14, 2023
The screen recording video shared by Isai was also shared by senior DMK leader RS Bharathi’s son Sai Lakshmikanth Bharathi who is known for his deep-seated hatred for Brahmins and Hindus.
Sridhar vembu Vikatanனு googleல தேடி பாருங்க.. அதிர்ச்சி காத்திருக்கிறது. நாணயம் விகடன், பசுமை விகடன், மோட்டார் விகடன், ஆனந்தவிகடன்னு எல்லாத்திலும் வேம்பு பற்றிய செய்திகள்.
இதனால் தமிழ்க் கூறும் நல்லுலகத்திற்கு சொல்வது என்னவென்றால் விகடன் promote பன்றவன் பூரா fraudதான். pic.twitter.com/I5O53Pqvvs
— சாய் லட்சுமிகாந்த் பாரதி (@sailaks11) March 14, 2023
Sai LakshmiKanth Bharathi also shared tweets which questioned the feminists who did not speak up against Vembu and his “bad deeds”. He tagged popular Twitter personalities who belong to the Brahmin caste.
பெண்ணியம் போற்றும் ஒரு IDஉம் @svembu வின் இந்த கேடுகெட்ட செயலை இதுவரை கண்டிக்கவில்லை என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.. So are the likes of @sumanthraman @bseshadri. If this isn’t brahminical whitewashing, what is?
— சாய் லட்சுமிகாந்த் பாரதி (@sailaks11) March 14, 2023
He then goes on to compare Vembu to Modi and Savukku Shankar.
Abandoning wife and child. Not giving proper alimony. Running away amd preaching about righteousness is common to Modi (no children), Vembu and Pimp Shankar. Name the others in comments.
— சாய் லட்சுமிகாந்த் பாரதி (@sailaks11) March 14, 2023
He also shared a tweet where he attacks Vembu over the alleged abandoning of his wife and special child in the US and that he was preaching to the youth of Tamil Nadu that they must not study and return to their villages in the name of nature and such.
ஏன்டா பொண்டாட்டியும் ஒரு special childஐ ஏமாத்திட்டு ஓடி வந்துட்டு எங்க பசங்களுக்கு படிக்காத, கிராமத்துக்கு திரும்பி வா, இயற்கை வெங்காயம்னு உருட்டிட்டு இருக்கியா.#FraudVembu#BoycottZOHO
— சாய் லட்சுமிகாந்த் பாரதி (@sailaks11) March 14, 2023
Self-proclaimed social activist Piyush Manush shared a below-the-belt post on the issue.
He called Vembu an RSS stooge and goes on to say that all “Sanghis” are creeps.
Sun News, the mouthpiece of the DMK government also shared a post about the allegations.
#BREAKING | ஸ்ரீதர் வேம்பு மீது அவரது மனைவி பிரமிளா ஸ்ரீனிவாசன் பரபரப்பு குற்றச்சாட்டு!#SunNews | #SridharVembu | #Zoho | #PramilaSrinivasan pic.twitter.com/u0RZ41iPlY
— Sun News (@sunnewstamil) March 14, 2023
The DMK IT wing Tanjore Zonal Incharge, Mayiladuthurai District Coordinator, P.M. Sridhar shared a disgraceful meme in the lines of the “Paridhabangal” video on migrant workers and accuses Vembu of abandoning his family “similar to his Guru”, taking a jibe at PM Narendra Modi who is incorrectly alleged to have abandoned his wife.
டேய் என்னடா பொண்டாட்டியையும் ஆட்டிசம் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட குழந்தையையும் விட்டுட்டு ஓடி வந்துட்ட
ஸ்ரீதர் வேம்பு~ என் குருநாதர் ஒருத்தர் இருக்கார் அவருலாம் கல்யாணம் முடிஞ்ச ஒரே மாசத்துல பொண்டாட்டிய விட்டுட்டு ஓடி வந்தாரு… அவரோட அரசியல் குரு ஒருத்தர் இருக்கார் அவரு ஊரு தான் பொண்டாட்டிய… https://t.co/zXZW4Y6OZj pic.twitter.com/u61OoPrnSR
— P.M.Sridhar (@Sridharpm3) March 14, 2023
It is pertinent to note that Sridhar Vembu has faced criticism from Dravidian activists in the recent past for his endeavours in the Tenkasi region, his association with the BJP, vocal support for PM Modi’s schemes and initiatives, as well as speaking up for the Hindu cause. They also resent his success as a Tamil Brahmin entrepreneur despite the high reservation quota in Tamil Nadu.
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