MADURAI: The Tamil Nadu government might be keenly organising MGR birth centenary celebrations across the state this year, but the one held at Theni on Thursday seem to have had more political significance than the earlier ones. Though the Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerslevam hails from the same region as for as the AIADMK is concerned, TTV Dhinakaran loyalist Thangam Tamilselvan, who won from Andipatti seat in the 2016 Assembly election, is regarded as popular in the party till recently.
He had organised a public meeting scheduled to be attended by Dhinakaran in the same venue in August this year, but was called off due to some other political development in the party. Today, thousands of party functionaries attended the celebrations expressing their solidarity with Panneerselvam. Speaking at the occasion, Panneerselvam said that, “We have all gathered here to fight against the attempt by a family to hijack the party.” The family had also tried to gain political mileage creating controversy on adorning gold ‘kavacham (armour)’ to the statue of Muthuramalinga Thevar during the latter’s Jayanthi celebrations recently, but ‘we defeated it”, he pointed out.
Charging the family with attempting to freeze the 'Two Leaves' symbol by giving false affidavit to the Election Commission of India, Panneerselvam said that, "Within next few days we will receive good news." He further said that nobody could destabilise the AIADMK. The party cadres raised loud applause when Panneerselvam addressed the meeting. Speaking at the occasion, the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami charged the opposition leader M K Stalin for repeatedly making statements stating that the government would fall sooner than later, referring to natural calamities like floods in Chennai or the drought faced by the state.
“He had served in the capacity of Chennai Mayor for five years and also Local Administration minister for another five years; did he ever think about Chennai then” asked Palaniswami. “If Stalin would have had travelled across Chennai and improved the facilities, we would not have faced such situation today,” he said and added that the government has been taking all steps to address the people's problem.
