CHENNAI: AIADMK on Thursday announced that former ministers SP Velumani and P Thangamani will pay homage to freedom fighter Dheeran Chinnamalai on his birth anniversary on Friday, while party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami will offer floral tributes to the late leader in Chennai.
The release said the announcement has been made with the consent of Palaniswami. It assumes political significance as Velumani and Thangamani were among the senior leaders who recently stayed away from the district-level review meetings convened by Palaniswami, fuelling speculation over differences within the party.
The AIADMK headquarters identified Velumani by his newly assigned party post – deputy general secretary and said he would pay homage to Dheeran Chinnamalai at the freedom fighter’s memorial at Odanilai in Erode. It also identified P Thangamani as organising secretary and said he would lead party functionaries at Chinnamalai’s statue in Sangagiri.
Both Velumani and Thangamani had earlier conveyed that they were unwilling to accept the new organisational responsibilities assigned to them for various reasons, and have not withdrawn their stand. Meanwhile, former minister CVe Shanmugam, who has emerged as the face of the dissident group of 25 AIADMK MLAs, has continued his criticism of Palaniswami.