CHENNAI: A day after losing the RK Nagar Assembly bypoll, the top brass of the AIADMK got their act together on Monday and expelled five of the staunch supporters of TTV Dhinakaran, who won the by-election, while stripping four others of party posts. They also handed out a strong warning that stern action would be taken against anybody — from the primary member level to headquarters office-bearers — who betrayed the party.
The announcements came after a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam at the party headquarters here.Besides, the AIADMK will file a petition before the Election Commission seeking a probe into the alleged irregularities committed by the supporters of Dhinakaran in RK Nagar.
The five who have been expelled for anti-party activities are: V P Kalairajan, secretary, South Chennai North, ‘Popular’ V Muthiah, secretary, Tirunelveli urban district, V Pugazhendhi, secretary, Karnataka State unit, Nanjil Sampath and C R Saraswathi, spokesperson.
P Vetrivel, N G Parthiban, M Rengasamy and Thanga Thamizhselvan, secretaries of north Chennai, Vellore east, Thanjavur north and Theni districts respectively were stripped of party posts but not expelled. All four are among the 18 MLAs disqualified by the Speaker and their petition is pending before the Madras High Court.
Shortly thereafter, Thanga Thamizhselvan, Kalairajan and others told media representatives that the coordinator and joint coordinator had no powers to expel them since the constitution of the party said that only the general secretary could take such action.
Five ministers — Dindigul C Sreenivasan, K C Veeramani, Kadambur Raju, G Baskaran and K T Rajenthra Bhalaji — did not take part in the meeting, triggering speculation. However, party sources clarified that the first four had prior commitments.