CUDDALORE: A meeting which the DMK called for to discuss Lok Sabha election work ended in chaos with functionaries belonging to two intra-party groups getting into a heated discussion and Minister for Labour Welfare and Skill Development CV Ganesan walking out in a huff.
According to sources, differences had been simmering between the two groups in Nellikuppam municipality and it surfaced in the form of accusations and counter-accusations at the meeting held at the party’s town office on Monday.
Town secretary Manivannan alleged that Radhakrishnan, a member of the party’s executive council and husband of Nellikuppam municipality chairman Jayanthi, was acting in a manner which is creating confusion among party cadre. “I was not invited to a meeting which the minister recently chaired,” Manivannan claimed.
A group of functionaries also expressed dissatisfaction over the “lack of attention” to DMK councillors compared to their counterparts from opposition parties.
Radhakrishnan, in turn, blamed Manivannan and his spouse Jayapradha for disrupting party activities. “We have lodged a complaint with the party headquarters,” he said, defending the allocation of funds for all municipal wards.
As the verbal duel escalated, Ganesan tried to intervene. However, his attempts to restore peace failed and he left the venue abruptly, leaving it to the seniors among the party leaders to diffuse the tension.
Sources said the animosity between Radhakrishnan and Manivannan can be traced back to local body elections, where their spouses vied for municipal chairman post. While Jayanthi won the post, Jayapradha had to resign from the deputy chairman’s post following warnings from the party headquarters as it was earmarked for the alliance partner VCK.
Sources also said that the party’s decision to concede the seat to the Congress, instead of fielding incumbent MP TRVS Ramesh or others, might have aggravated the intra-party feud.
Intra-party groups
Differences had been simmering between the two intra-party groups and it surfaced in the form of accusations and counter-accusations at the meeting held at the party’s town office