Days ahead of the AIADMK stepping into its 46th year, internal bickerings have surfaced once again even as top leaders of the party called for unity to save the government.
On Sunday, party coordinator and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam and joint coordinator and Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami recalled attempts by “some people” to get the government dissolved.
“We have crushed attempts by some who contacted our political opponents and tried to dissolve the government. We are also watching attempts by those who are making new political connections and trying to dissolve the government,” they said in a letter to the cadre ahead of the founding day on October 17.
“No individual or movement will ever rise in Tamil Nadu to stand against or win over our great movement,” they asserted, calling upon the cadre to ensure the party’s victory in the ensuing local body polls in the State.
The same day, Lok Sabha deputy speaker and party senior M. Thambi Durai said that he was for the coming back of “some leaders” who are not with the party presently.
“There are chances of coming together and that is what we are looking forward to. All are AIADMK workers and have followed in the footsteps of Amma . So, it is the duty of everyone to protect the party as well as the government,” Mr. Thambi Durai said to a query as to whether those who left the party would come back.
Later in the evening, former Minister K.P. Munusamy, who has been given prominence in the party after the AIADMK (Amma- PTA) merger, said, “Thambi Durai was given many party posts by Amma . He should have refuted and condemned T.T.V. Dhinakaran’s remarks that senior leaders should join him. If he had said so, every AIADMK worker would have welcomed it.” He also called Mr. Dhinakaran a “forgery” for allegedly submitting fake documents to the Election Commission.
