Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) leader and one of the 18 disqualified MLAs, S. Thangatamilselvan, has said that the objective of the party is to revive Amma’s (Jayalalithaa’s) rule in Tamil Nadu after replacing Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami.
After participating in a yagna and taking a holy dip in the Tamirabarani at Papanasam along with a few other disqualified MLAs on Tuesday, Mr. Thangatamilselvan accused the Tamil Nadu government of not making adequate arrangements for the maha pushkaram.
“We hope that the judgment (in the case pertaining to the disqualification of 18 MLAs) would be in our favour. If we get a favourable judgment, we will either go to Fort St. George or collectively discuss the future course of action. Our objective is to revive Amma’s rule in Tamil Nadu after replacing Mr. Palaniswami,” he said.
When asked about AMMK deputy general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran’s assertion on dissolving or toppling the government, Mr. Thangatamilselvan said that he, after witnessing rampant corruption in the current administration, wanted it gone. “But our goal is to continue Amma’s rule in Tamil Nadu without Edappadi Palaniswami,” he said. He claimed that all 18 disqualified MLAs had reached the resort in Courtallam, where he was lodged, and that two more MLAs would be joining them. He, however, did not name the two MLAs.
The timing of the decision to shift the disqualified legislators to a resort in Courtallam had sparked speculation that they were being taken there ahead of an impending verdict by a third judge of the Madras High Court in the MLAs’ disqualification case.
‘No truck with BJP’
When asked if the AMMK would find a place in the BJP-led alliance for the upcoming Parliamentary polls, Mr. Thangatamilselvan, sporting a saffron-coloured towel around his neck after taking a holy dip, made it clear that his party will only ally with secular outfits, and that it won’t support the BJP.
He said the Chief Minister should drop Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar from the cabinet in the wake of allegations that he had fathered a child through an extra-marital affair. The Minister has denied the allegation.
Asserting that the disqualified MLAs were not hiding away, he said,
“We have come here to take a holy dip in the Tamirabarani in view of maha pushkaram, which concludes today [Tuesday]. We will leave Courtallam day after tomorrow (Thursday).”