Merely two months after T.T.V. Dhinakaran’s ascension to the leadership of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Amma), talk of a potential revolt against his leadership has been doing the rounds within party circles.
During a chat with mediapersons near his residence here after holding discussions with Ministers and senior functionaries on Friday, Mr. Dhinakaran denied that a section of Ministers had demanded his resignation as deputy general secretary to save the party or that some Ministers were said to have visited the mausoleum of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. “Did you not see Ministers coming here and greeting me? All those Ministers who are in Chennai were here and they exchanged greetings with me [on the occasion of Tamil New Year Day],” he said, dismissing the reports of a revolt as a “rumour.”
He acknowledged that during the discussion at his house earlier, “we discussed many issues. Some spoke in a jolly mood. Some did make their point, raising their voice.
“There were heated exchanges of words. In the end, it is like any discussion that would happen among 20 persons.”
While admitting that the discussions touched upon the issue surrounding Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar, against whom searches were conducted by the Income Tax department recently, Mr. Dhinakaran reiterated that the Minister did not have to quit the post. He denied that there would be changes in the Cabinet. Notwithstanding the support of the AIADMK (Amma)’s deputy general secretary for the beleaguered Minister, it is evident that many senior leaders and Ministers are feeling uneasy over the controversy surrounding Mr. Vijaya Baskar. Their view is that it is causing a dent in the image of the party and the government.
At least one Tamil television channel had reported that Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M. Thambidurai was closeted with Ministers S.P. Velumani and P.Thangamani on Thursday night and held confabulations in the light of recent events in the State. There were reports that he was one of those who wanted Mr. Dhinakaran to step aside.
But, strongly denying these reports, Mr. Thambidurai, who was present at the residence of Mr. Dhinakaran earlier, told The Hindu that he was, in no way, involved with any such activity. “No one has met me,” he said.
About his meeting with Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi a few days ago, Mr. Thambidurai said: “It is quite common on my part to meet Mr. Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But, no political significance needs to be attached to such meetings.”
Conciliatory approach
Incidentally, a few days after his charge against the BJP on the cancellation of the Radhakrishnan Nagar byelection, Mr. Dhinakaran sounded conciliatory, during his interaction with the media, towards the national party and said he did not believe that the BJP had any role over the Election Commission’s decision to freeze the symbol of ‘Two Leaves’. “It is our rival (Panneerselvam) camp that had complained to the Election Commission on the issue,” he said.
In the morning, after paying floral homage to B.R. Ambedkar, Mr. Dhinakaran, who was extremely critical of the AIADMK (Purtachi Thalaivi Amma)’s leader and former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam in recent weeks, adopted a different language towards the AIADMK (PTA). He said his party would take back all those who wanted to return, “if they repent their mistakes.”
Meanwhile, former Minister Ma Foi K Pandiarajan, a key leader of the AIADMK (PTA), at a public meeting said the two factions of the AIADMK must unite and work as one entity. His statement comes in the backdrop of some private moves by second line leaders of the two camps to merge the AIADMK (Amma) and (PTA) sans the leadership of the Sasikala family.
