CHENNAI: Putting forth the argument that dual power structure won’t work with political parties in delivering their promises to the people, AIADMK parliamentary party leader M Thambidurai on Monday appealed to party general secretary VK Sasikala to take over as Chief Minister of the State immediately. He also made this appeal personally to her at Poes Garden. Just a couple of days ago, she took charge as the general secretary of the party.
Minutes after the statement of Thambidurai was released from the AIADMK headquarters, Minister for Forests, Dindigul C Sreenivasan, the number two in the Cabinet headed by Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, also raised his voice in support of this demand offering to quit as MLA of his Dindigul Assembly constituency so that Sasikala could be elected from there.
A few hours after the appeals of Thambidurai and Sreenivasan, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and senior Ministers including Edappadi K Palanisamy and K Thangamani arrived at Poes Garden and they reportedly held discussions with Sasikala on the latest developments.
The appeal to Sasikala to take over the leadership of the party and the government is only a reiteration because many ministers in the Cabinet had already made this request. Revenue Minister RB Udayakumar and AIADMK presidium chairman E Madhusudhanan had said that Sasikala alone should be the sole heir to Jayalalithaa in party and government. Udayakumar on Sunday reiterated his demand and on Monday, others followed suit.
“The past history has shown that some governments had been pushed into several hurdles and was incapable of delivering its promises and that such governments had lost their credibility among the people, when the leadership of the party and the leadership of the government was in the hands of two different persons,” Thambidurai said in his statement.
“The unfinished tasks of the party and the government, as expected by Amma, will be completed only when the leadership of the party and the leadership of the government are in the hands of one person,” he asserted.
He also said when the country was going to face parliamentary elections in two years, the AIADMK should function very effectively to get the wholehearted support of the people, and to continue to win the election, as was done by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
Hailing Sasikala’s maiden speech after taking over as general secretary of the party, Thambidurai said, “Her words have created confidence in the minds of all of us that the political journey, started by Arignar Anna and followed by MGR and Jayalalithaa, would be taken forward for several generations from now.”