Stalin calling OPS coordinator raises EPS camp’s ire

Chennai: A seemingly innocuous tweet by Chief Minister M K Stalin wishing former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam a speedy recovery by referring to him as Coordinator of AIADMK and deputy leaders of the opposition in the State Assembly on Saturday raised a storm in the rival leader Edappadi K Palaniswami camp.

The cat is now out of the bag, said one AIADMK functionary owing allegiance to Palaniswami, adding though they had always been alleging a nexus between Panneerselvam and the DMK, the Chief Minister had now proved them right through his explicit tweet.

Panneerselvam was admitted to the MGM Healthcare hospital in Chennai on Friday with mild symptoms of Covid-19. A press release issued by the hospital director Ananth Mohan Pal, however, identified Panneerselvam as ‘Former Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.’

It said that Panneerselvam was ‘in observation under a team of our experts’ and that he was stable and on medication as advised by the clinical team.

The Chief Minister’s get well message evoked different reactions on Twitter with some of them being sarcastic for referring to Panneerselvam as AIADMK coordinator while some others were vocally inimical with one of them saying the ‘link’ has been exposed.

One comment asked the Chief Minister if he was in a coma, to remind him that Panneerselvam was removed from the post of Coordinator at the General Council meeting on July 11, while some others praised him for the concern.

Many low level leaders, too, were angry over Stalin still addressing him as ‘Coordinator’ though they agreed that they themselves had not yet removed him from the post of Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

He would be voted out of the post on Sunday when the MLAs meet at Hotel Crown Plaza to discuss the stand to be taken with regard to the Presidential election on Monday. Besides briefing the MLAs to cast their votes in favour of Draupadi Murmu, the NDA candidate for President, the meeting would elect a new deputy leader of the opposition in the Assembly, they said.

Though the MLAs’ meeting was earlier scheduled to be held at the official residence of Palaniswami in Greenways Road, an objection raised by a Panneerselvam supporter, Kovai Selvaraj, over the proposed ‘misuse’ of the government quarters to hold a party meeting, prompted the shifting of the venue to a star hotel.

Once the MLAs choose the new deputy leader, the name would be conveyed to the Speaker to take necessary action on it. Panneerselvam had already written to the Speaker, M Appavu, urging him not to act on any intimation on change of the deputy leader of the opposition.

Palaniswami, who is at his home in Edappadi in Salem district, is expected to return to the city for the MLAs meeting and also for casting his vote the next day in the Presidential election. But ahead of that, he expelled two more persons from the party on Saturday.

Amalan P Samraj, who is youth wing office bearer, and Athira Navis Prabakhar of the party’s medical wing were axed. Both of them are said to be the son and daughter of Panneerselvam acolyte J C D Prabhakar.