CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, on Wednesday, released the preview edition of the official daily newspaper of AIADMK ‘Porvaal’ at the party’s camp office in Chennai. The move follows CVe Shanmugam group seizing control of the party mouthpiece, ‘Namadhu Amma’, and News J television channel after the Assembly election.
Interestingly, ‘Porvaal’ was a weekly in the 1940s, edited by Dravidian leader Kanchi Manimozhiyar. Later on, AIADMK sources said, this became a daily in 1970s and was edited by former ministers of the AIADMK.
Talking to reporters at the residence of Palnaiswami, former minister Agri SS Krishnamurthy said CVe Shanmugam was removed as district secretary and from other posts by former CM and party supremo J Jayalalithaa, and when Palaniswami became the CM, he restored Shanmugam as district secretary and made him a minister.
Krishnamurthy said the party gave tickets only to those candidates recommended by SP Velumani and others. Shanmugam has been levelling allegations against Palaniswami solely to cover up his own faults, he added.
Krihsnamurthy said of the 78 AIADMK district secretaries, 75 attended the meeting convened by Palaniswami on Wednesday. Of the 81 headquarters office-bearers, 60 attended, and the rest had conveyed their reasons for not showing up.
“So, in all 95% of the AIADMK functionaries are rallying behind Palaniswami,” he said. When asked about Shanmugam’s contention that Palaniswami has no power to remove the district secretaries and other office-bearers after differences of opinion cropped up in the party, Krishnamurthy said, “Certain office-bearers have been relieved of party posts only because they have acted against party bylaws.”
On Shanmugam’s allegation that EPS has not been owning up for the poll defeats, Krishnamurthy said, “On Wednesday, Palaniswami discussed the election results threadbare. Within a few days, he will be meeting the office-bearers district-wise.”