Factional feud haunts R Sarathkumar party

Chennai:  All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi (AISMK) headed by actor-politician R. Sarathkumar is facing a serious factional feud as expelled vice-president and MLA A. Narayanan has turned against his own party leader.

Sarath Kumar after a high-level committee meeting of the party held here on Thursday told reporters that there was a conspiracy to split his party.

“Except for a few, all the district secretaries have attended the meeting. The party has given me the power to take the decisions regarding the Assembly elections. Our party is still with the AIADMK alliance,” he said.

A. Narayanan, who was expelled from the party on Wednesday “for indulging in anti-party activities” said, “Sarathkumar pressurised me to resign from the MLA post for his political gains as he didn’t get the Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa’s appointment during the crucial South Indian Artistes’ Association’s election.

 “But I refused to resign. So, he was angry and expelled me from the party. I am discussing with my supporters to decide the next course of action. I will not change the AIADMK supportive stand and will work with my supporters for the victory of Jayalalithaa,” he said in a statement on Thursday.  

However, Sarathkumar refuted the charges that he pressurised Narayanan to resign.

No discussion in party: Pazha Karuppaiah

Harbour MLA Pazha Karuppaiah, expelled from AIADMK party Wednesday, announced his resignation as MLA on Thursday.

He justified his resignation and also said there was nothing wrong with the AIADMK leadership in expelling him from the party as his views and the party’s views contradicted.

“The present AIADMK is functioning only because of the dynamism of party leader Jayalalithaa, otherwise the party has lost its morale and values like other Dravidian parties,” Karuppaiah told reporters.

The first time MLA said that AIADMK members did not have any space to express their views.

“No discussion happens in the party, and whenever I wanted to meet party supremo J. Jayalalithaa to express my views I was not given an audience,” he said.

He also charged bureaucrats with joining  hands with elected members, which according to him was a bad sign for country that has to fight corruption.

“Bureaucracy is the biggest threat that the state is facing and officers starting from IAS to field engineers are looting the country and as a MLA, I have failed to fight corruption,” Pala Karuppaiah said.