CHENNAI: The eligibility criteria for contesting in the AIADMK general secretary elections were altered with a view to suit the interests of Edappadi K Palaniswami, and they went against intra-party democracy, argued senior counsel Guru Krishnakumar on behalf of deposed leader O Panneerselvam before the Madras High Court.
Continuing the final arguments before Justices R Mahadevan and Mohammed Shaffiq on the appeals filed against the order of a single judge on the polls and the expulsion of OPS and his three supporters, he said the amendment to alter the eligibility criteria for contesting to the post of the general secretary by making it mandatory to propose and second the nominations by 10 district secretaries each was done to serve the personal interests of Palaniswami.
The counsel further stated it cannot be construed that the posts of coordinator and joint coordinator, elected in December, 2021 through a resolution of the executive committee, lapsed as the election was not ratified by the general council meeting on June 2022. Pointing out that the decisions of the executive committee need not be ratified by the general council, he recalled there was no such resolution in the agenda for the June 22, 2022, general council meeting.
In the July 11, 2022 meeting, resolutions were passed to abolish the two posts, revive the general secretary post and induct an interim general secretary. All these were done in violation of the party’s bylaws and against the basic structure of the party. After the arguments got over, the judges adjourned the matter for Monday.