CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday firmly rejected the renewed demand from senior leader KA Sengottaiyan for reinducting those who drifted away, including former CM O Panneerselvam and AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran, into the party.
Addressing a party meeting organised to celebrate the 117th birth anniversary of late chief minister CN Annadurai here, Palaniswami, without taking the names of the leaders, asked the cadre if he should allow the person (Panneerselvam), whose supporters attacked the party headquarters in the past, and the one (Dhinakaran) who took away 18 AIADMK MLAs in a bid to topple the previous government, into the party.
In what appeared as a veiled reference to Sengottaiyan, the former CM said some were playing games by using some people as stooges. “We have now identified the stooges. We will soon take a decision on that,” he said. In a warning to those trying to mortgage the party for their own gains, he said, “Those who betray the AIADMK will find themselves abandoned, left stranded in the middle of the road with no place for them, because the AIADMK is not just a party but a movement divinely formed for the welfare of the poor.”
He said the postponement of his campaign in Dharmapuri due to adverse weather forecast was misreported by the media, which said he was flying to Delhi to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss internal party issues of the AIADMK. He, however, did not rule out a meeting with Shah. His remarks assumed significance as it indicated that he wished to clear the air to the party cadre ahead of his meeting with Shah.
“Self-respect is more important than being in power for us. I will never compromise on that,” he said. Palaniswami went on to profusely thank the BJP for only doing good to the Dravidian party, both when it was in power and even after it lost power. “After Amma’s (late CM Jayalalithaa) demise, many tried to capture the party and topple our government,” he said, adding it was the BJP that helped the AIADMK overcome those challenges.