OOTY: MGR birth centenary year celebrations held in a grand manner here on Saturday saw Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Paneerselvam making sharp attacks on dissident TTV Dhinakaran. They asserted that the AIADMK will weather any storm to complete its term and keep the party intact.
Training their guns on Dhinakaran at the Race Course grounds where the celebration was organised, both Palaniswami and Pannerselvam, apart from paying rich encomiums to the legacy of the late leaders MGR and J. Jayalalithaa, utilised the opportunity to launch a frontal attack on Dhinakaran, who recently won the RK Nagar bypoll by a huge margin.
Stating that the AIADMK is a party of the cadres and MGR neverallowed his family to interfere in party affairs, Palaniswami, said that though the DMK introduced “Thirumangalam formula” to win thebypolls in the past, in the recently held RK Nagar polls, TTVDhinakaran introduced the 'hawala formula" to win the elections. Thatshowed his criminal designs, he added.
“I joined AIADMK in 1974 and rose to high positions from a branch secretary level. AIADMK cadres from MGR era sweated it out for the party. However, TTV Dhinakaran entered the party through back door in the recent past and is now trying to accuse the real workers of the party as traitors. People will teach him a lesson in future,” he noted.
Narrating a rat and tortoise story he alleged there was a behind-the- scene arrangement between DMK and TTV Dhinakaran in the RK Nagar bypolls. Stalin should know bad friendship would end in a disaster, he noted. Likewise, PMK leader Dr Anbumani should clear himself in the CBI case against him before criticising the AIADMK government, he urged. He said that his government would implement around a 25 new schemes for the Nilgiris and added that he has ordered payment of subsidy of '2 per kg of green tea leaf to support the small tea farmers. Palaniswami, dwelling at some length on the various development schemes introduced by MGR for Nilgiris, including extension of the Parson's Valley drinking water scheme for the hills, said MGR had good connect with this beautiful district as quite a few of his films were shot in the hills.
Pannerselvam in his address said that TTV Dhinakaran was 19 years junior to him in politics and he cannot simply accuse the senior leaders in the party. He charged that in 2008 TTV Dhinakaran enacted a conspiracy to unseat Jayalalithaa from AIADMK's top post in order to become Chief Minister in future. But, knowing his evil designs, Jayalalithaa expelled him from the party and never allowed him to join the party again, he pointed out.
State Assembly Speaker. P.Dhanapal, presided over the celebrations. S.P.Velumani, municipal Administration minister spoke on the occasion. Later, the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister distributed welfare assistance to a host of beneficiaries at the function. While talking to reporters Edappadi Palaniswami said that TTV Dhinakaran has been telling that he is going to send this AIADMK government home. This triggered suspicion that hemay join hands with the DMK to dislodge the AIADMK government. But, AIADMK was shaped by two great leaders in the past. TTV Dhinakaran's wishes will not be fulfilled as the AIADMK cadres will not allow it, he added.
