The fight for being recognised as the real AIADMK and capturing the party’s popular ‘Two Leaves’ symbol ahead of the bypolls to the Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar Assembly constituency has intensified with the faction led by former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam (OPS) set to meet the Chief Election Commissioner in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Ahead of his visit, his team submitted a rebuttal to the response given by jailed leader V.K. Sasikala to the Election Commission to their petition challenging her appointment as the interim general secretary of the AIADMK.
A senior leader of the OPS camp said that a point-by-point rebuttal running into 61 pages was submitted to the Election Commission in Delhi on Tuesday. A copy of the same was sent to the Bengaluru prison where she is serving a four-year jail term.
“We are also meeting the Chief Election Commissioner to give oral evidence over the matter. OPS Annan would be there with all of us,” he said.
‘Glaring mistakes’
Another leader of the OPS camp and former Member of Parliament K.C. Palanisamy, said that Sasikala had made “several glaring errors” in her response to the Commission and the OPS team had pointed them out in their response to the Commission.
“She has made some glaring errors in her response to the Commission. She has made mistakes even in the years when founder leader MGR was the general secretary of the party and the Chief Minister. Though he became the CM only in 1977, Sasikala has said he became CM in 1972, which is wrong,” Mr. Palanisamy said.
In her response, Sasikala had admitted that she was only the interim general secretary of the party, he pointed out, and said: “We have submitted to the Commission to declare her election as null and void, since she was not elected by those holding the primary membership of the party and not by its General Council.”
The founder was the head of the party only till 1977 but she had stated that he was the head till 1987, whereas other leaders held the post during those years.
“She cited that the party had reunited after a split in 1989. But at that time, Amma (Jayalalithaa) was elected unanimously by both factions [led by Jayalalithaa and Janaki],” Mr. Palanisamy said.
