One of the recently appointed Organising Secretaries of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and former MLA V. Karuppasamy Pandian, who re-entered the outfit only seven months ago, resigned the party position on Wednesday in protest against the appointment of T.T.V. Dinakaran as party’s deputy general secretary.
“I cannot digest the appointment of a person, who was removed from the party by Jayalalithaa in 2011 after branding him as ‘traitor’, as the deputy general secretary. Hence, I, in protest against this move, resign my party position,” Mr. Karuppasamy Pandian told reporters in a hastily arranged press conference on Wednesday.
He charged that V.K. Sasikala, who was elected as party’s interim general secretary, had readmitted her nephew Mr. Dinakaran into the party and making all out attempts to make the party into her ‘family property’ by elevating him to the deputy general secretary post immediately with ulterior motive.
“After discussing with the party workers, I’ll reveal my next step,” he said while lauding the manner in which Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam is administering the government.
“He (Mr. Panneerselvam), who was handpicked by Jayalalithaa for the job, is performing exceedingly well and hence there is no need to replace him,” he noted.
Mr. Pandian said there was no question of him joining the DMK.
After starting his political journey as the staunch loyalist of AIADMK founder and former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran, Mr. Karuppasamy Pandian was given various positions in the AIADMK by MGR, and later by party general secretary Jayalalithaa right from Thiruthu area secretary in 1972 to State deputy general secretary in 1996.
However, he was expelled by Jayalalithaa from the party in 2000 and embraced AIADMK’s political arch rival, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on May 3, 2000. He was also given various positions in the DMK and elected to the Assembly from Tenkasi segment.
After getting suspended from the DMK on May 13, 2015 for violating party discipline and bringing disrepute to the party, Mr. Karuppasamy Pandian remained silent for a while and expressed his willingness to return to the AIADMK. Even after he vociferously proclaimed that he would work for the resounding victory of the AIADMK in the May 2015 Assembly polls, Jayalalithaa was in no mood to accommodate him.
During the press meet held on February 25, 2016, Mr. Karuppasamy Pandian said: “I paid a hefty price for having left the AIADMK to join the DMK 15 years ago. I’ve wasted my energy and resources over the past 15 years by working for strengthening the DMK in Tirunelveli district. I was betrayed, ill-treated and forced to leave the DMK in a disgraced manner. Now, I dedicate everything and ready to even sacrifice myself for ‘Amma’ and the victory of the AIADMK in the ensuing Assembly polls. I’ll campaign in support of the AIADMK if ‘Amma’ permits me to do so… All praise to ‘Amma’,” Mr. Pandian then told reporters while holding DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi’s son M.K. Alagiri and daughter Kanimozhi responsible for his suspension from DMK.
Finally, he was readmitted into the party on July 26, 2016 by Jayalalithaa.
After the demise of Jayalalithaa, Sasikala appointed him as one of the organising secretaries of the party. “Though I never asked for this post, I was appointed as the organising secretary without getting my consent. Now, I resign this post given by Sasikala,” Mr. Karuppasamy Pandian said.
