While claiming that there were “some fears” among the Ministers that made them revolt against him, AIADMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran on Wednesday said he was not against the merger of the two factions of the party. Going by outward appearances, he seemed nonchalant and unaffected by the development that saw Ministers who earlier supported him resolving to remove him from the party. However, on persistent questioning by the media, he went back and forth on his statements.
Earlier in the day (before leaving for a court hearing), he appeared confident and maintained that he had the support of all MLAs. A few hours later, his tone changed as he declared he had no problem in the decision to merge as long as it benefitted the party and the government in the long term.
When asked to elaborate on the “fears” the Ministers might have had, he said: “You ask them what the fears were.”
However, Mr. Dhinakaran was wary of the idea of resigning his post, contending it was the General Secretary (V.K. Sasikala) who appointed him as the Deputy General Secretary and he had to consult her [about quitting his post]. Again, contradicting himself, he said he had stepped aside on Tuesday night itself, when asked whether he would quit.
Even as he claimed that he was a mature leader and accepted the decision of the party, he wondered how the Ministers who met him only three days ago could have gone against him. Later in the day, he thanked his supporters through his verified Twitter handle.
After persistent queries about his opinion on the merger, he said, “I'm not unhappy and am not happy.” Asked if he would gather support of MLAs and show his strength, he said, “I don't want to do anything against my party.”
“I didn't enjoy anything so I have no regrets,” he added. Another question was whether he should have waited for some more time to win the confidence of his partymen before he was appointed the Deputy General Secretary. To this, he said, “Previously, I was the treasurer of the party. Why should I wait? I was Member of the Parliament twice. What is this?”
MLAs meeting cancelled
A meeting of the AIADMK Amma MLAs called for on Wednesday evening by TTV Dhinakaran soon after the Ministers revolted against him, was called off eventually.
Though over half a dozen MLAs and few senior party functionaries visited his residence at Adyar soon after the press conference by revolting Ministers, the MLAs meeting scheduled in the party head office at 3 pm on Wednesday was much anticipated, as it would indicate the actual number of MLAs with him. As of now, it is unclear which of the Minister and MLAs are with Mr. Dhinakaran.
Earlier in the day, Finance Minister D. Jayakumar, who also announced the Ministers’ decision on Tuesday night, said that Mr. Dhinakaran didn’t have the authority to call for an MLA meeting. His colleague and party presidium chairman K. A.Sengottaiyan said the meeting would not take place. It turns out that Mr. Dhinakaran himself cancelled the meeting later after his appearance was necessiated at a local court in connection with a FERA case.
CM to head party committee
Senior Ministers, who held revolt banners against their leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran on Tuesday night, held a meeting in the residence of Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday. Senior Ministers D. Jayakumar, K.A. Sengottaiyan, Dindigul C. Sreenivasan, among others were part of the meeting chaired headed by Mr. Palaniswami, sources said.
Emerging from the meeting, Mr. Sreenivasan said, “We have decided to constitute a committee under Chief Minister Palaniswami, which will lead the party.”
OPS camp rejoices
Meanwhile, O. Panneerselvam, the leader of the AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) camp, said, “This is a first victory in our dharma yudham . Our struggle was only to keep Sasikala's influence away from the party. We will hold talks and decide as per the wishes of partymen and people.”
( With inputs from R. Sivaraman and T.K. Rohit )
