MADURAI
A portion of Anna Nagar Main Road here leading to the Bank of India branch witnessed anxious moments on Wednesday once again as the supporters of Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy CM O. Panneerselvam, and sidelined AIADMK deputy general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran came close to each other despite the presence of a large posse of police.
Earlier on October 26, when Mr. Paneerselvam had come to the bank to take custody of the 13.5-kg gold kavacham (armour) that adorned the statue of freedom fighter Muthuramalinga Thevar at his memorial at Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram district during Thevar jayanthi, a dispute erupted between the warring factions.
After a six-hour-long discussion, it was decided that the kavacham should be handed over to Madurai Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao, and returned to the bank on November 1.
On Wednesday, AIADMK functionaries, led by Mr. Panneerselvam, came to the bank to return the kavacham for safekeeping in a locker. When the armour was brought to the bank amid tight security, the Dhinakaran and EPS/OPS supporters were present in good numbers.
“Though they all belonged to the same party, they shouted slogans against each other, causing tense moments,” a police officer on bandobust duty said.
When Mr. Panneerselvam and other Ministers and MLAs entered the bank along with Mr. Rao, some cadres shouted slogans hailing “Chinnamma”. Mr. Panneerselvam went inside with a nod.
When they stepped out of the bank after depositing the gold armour, the Edappadi group hailed them. The police, however, stopped the factions from coming any closer.
As Mr. Panneerselvam and others left in their vehicles one by one, the cadres were heard saying an early patch-up of the factions would keep their “real enemies” at bay.
Earlier in the day, Ramanathapuram Collector S. Natarajan handed over the armour to Madurai Revenue Divisional Officer Karthikeyan.
The heirs of Muthuramalinga Thevar, including Gandhi Meenal Natarajan and B. Ramachandran, removed the gold armour from the statue of the late leader at his memorial after a special puja.
The armour, made in four segments, was kept in a tin box, wrapped with a cloth and sealed in the presence of Mr. Natarajan and Mr. Karthikeyan. Later, it was taken to Madurai with the protection of armed guards.
