The AIADMK senior leaders and Ministers on Saturday took turns to counter the claims of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader TTV Dhinakaran. “There is no idea of accepting VK Sasikala and TTV Dhinarakan back in to the ruling AIADMK and only less than two per cent are rallying behind Dhinakaran,” Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar told reporters.
Chennai:
The issue of O Panneerselvam meeting Dhinakaran has already been clarified by the Deputy Chief Minister and there is no need for further discussions as these are baseless. AIADMK cadres are aware of Dhinakaran’s falsehood and the party is intact, Jayakumar added.
Reacting to Dhinakaran’s allegation that SP Velumani was unhappy for appointing Edappadi K Palaniswami as the state Chief Minister, Velumani termed the allegation as a big joke. Dhinakaran is jolted by the party’s resurgence in Tiruparankundram party workers meet and he will unveil more such jokes.
Echoing Panneerselvam’s rebuttal, Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai said that the AIADMK government under the leadership of Palaniswami and Panneerselvam was delivering good governance and there is no threat for the ruling AIADMK.
We are ready for poll and if required the AIADMK will contest alone in all the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and Pudhucherry, he said.
Addressing a government function here in Chennai, Minister for Tamil development and archaeology Ma Foi Pandiarajan said that EPS and OPS are functioning like siblings and there is no rivalry as alleged by Dhinakaran.
Ministers RB Udayakumar and Sellur Raju also told reporters that the RK Nagar MLA is levelling allegations against the ruling dispensation for vested political interests.
“He is expecting something beyond his dream, but nobody wants to go behind him, and it will never happen,” said Udayakumar.
Meanwhile in Thoothukudi, Kadambur C Raju, Minister for Information and Publicity said, “When Dhinakaran was under the fold of AIADMK in 2017, he could have met Panneerselvam.”
Palaniswami likely to meet Modi tomorrow
Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami will leave for Delhi on Sunday through an Air India flight and is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.
The Chief Minister’s visit to Delhi has raised many an eyebrow among the political parties as it comes in the back drop of his meetings with Governor Banwarilal Purohit and Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan.
Though the Ministers remain tight-lipped about the Delhi schedule, it was learnt that the Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan too will go to Delhi on Sunday. AIADMK sources said it is likely that the CM will seek Modi’s guidance to handle the ongoing factional feud in the ruling party.