CHENNAI: Even as the inner-party wranglings continued in the AIADMK, the CVe Shanmugam-led rebel group is said to be busy getting letters from members of the party general council (GC) urging general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami to convene the GC meeting soon.
AIADMK sources said sensing this, leaders of the Palaniswami group are also reaching out to the district-level party functionaries, requesting them not to give such letters to the Shanmugam group and assuring them that he (Palaniswami) will resolve the issues to the satisfaction of all.
AIADMK functionaries from various parts of the state visited Palaniswami at his residence on Saturday. AIADMK MP M Dhanapal, a supporter of Palaniswami, said, “The law will take its own course for the 25 AIADMK MLAs who supported the TVK government. If the Assembly Speaker fails to take a decision within 90 days regarding these 25 MLAs, we will move the court, and eventually, they will be disqualified as MLAs. And following that, whoever is fielded by Palaniswami as candidates in the by-election to the 25 constituencies will become the MLAs.”
Asked about the CVe Shanmugam faction’s demand to convene the AIADMK general council meeting, Dhanapal said the annual general council meeting will take place at appropriate time to discuss all party issues. “But now there is no need for convening the GC meeting.”
Meanwhile, in yet another move indicative of the intensity of the internal fight, the name of Palaniswami as founder of the Namadhu Amma, AIADMK mouthpiece, has been removed and replaced with SP Velumani’s.
In Villupuram, there was a wordy duel between the supporters of CVe Shanmugam and R Pasupathy, who has been appointed as the new secretary, over occupying the district unit office, and the police have sealed the office due to the tense situation prevailing there.