Madurai: Even as he unleashed a fiery barrage against Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami for piloting the party resolution unseating him from the post of deputy general secretary, beleaguered AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran on Monday waved an olive branch offering support for the stability of his government.
“Should those holding power, courtesy ‘Idhaya Deivam Chinnamma’, stop shadow fencing with paper swords in the hope of capturing this party just because they have some MLAs, and start serious efforts to administer the state so that it could gain from the good schemes of the Centre, we will support that”, said Dhinakaran addressing a mammoth rally at Melur, about 20 km from here.
That’s to say that despite all that massive show of cadre strength here, he was willing to support the government and even pay obeisance to Delhi for its “good schemes”, provided he was allowed to keep control over the party.
The rally was for celebrating the birth centenary of AIADMK founder MGR, but aimed more at demonstrating TTV’s muscle in his southern stronghold, amid wide expectation that the rival factions in the party would soon merge sans the Sasikala family.
Turning his gun at rival AIADMK faction leader O. Panneerselvam, TTV said the government should indeed order a probe into Jayalalithaa’s death. “While we have nothing to hide, those in authority at that time would have to answer many questions if the probe is ordered”, he said in an obvious reference to OPS, who was the CM then.
Sporting a smile for most part of his speech that lasted a little over 45 minutes and had the crowd cheering repeatedly, TTV lashed out at CM Edappadi Palaniswami telling him he was in the gaddi only because Chinnamma nominated him for the post.
“If only she had wanted, she could have become the CM or made one of us in the family the CM”, he said.
But what did those whom she made CM and ministers do the moment she left for Bengaluru? “They removed her pictures and banners from the party headquarters. And now they have passed resolution saying I am not the deputy general secretary….Sitting behind the closed doors of the party office, you cannot capture the party”.
Repeating the ‘420’ charge against CM Edappadi, accusing him and 26 other signatories of the resolution (removing him as deputy general secretary) of forgery, TTV said, “If this act of theirs was not 420, what else was it?” He pointed to party’s agriculture wing secretary Durai Govindarajan, seated on the dais and said the former AIADMK whip had signed that resolution “without even knowing what was in it; they did not tell him”.
Warning the CM that he would not be able to take the party control off him, TTV said, “Just because you have the government and some MLAs, don’t think you can capture the party. MLAs alone do not constitute the party whereas the cadres are our masters and the cadres will not forgive those trying to seize the
party through the backdoor”.
Rather than “fencing with paper swords”, EPS and others should focus on good governance and use the good offices with the Centre to bring in the “good Central schemes” to benefit the people of Tamil Nadu, TTV said, indicating that he was not for toppling the EPS government. “We can easily win the Parliament elections if we implement schemes keeping people’s welfare in mind”, he said.
