EPS Rushes to Delhi, Triggering Speculations

Chennai: The unannounced departure of AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami to Delhi, even as the crucial Budget session of the State Assembly was on, triggered speculations on the purpose of his solo trip that was shrouded in mystery since the travel plan was kept under wraps till the eleventh hour with no party cadre or leader turning up at the airport to see him off.

When intelligence officials at the airport, taken in by surprise by the information that the Leader of the Opposition was leaving for Delhi, started scanning the passenger details, thinking that he would take one of the late evening flights as the Assembly session was on, more surprises awaited them. One, the name in the list just said ‘Palaniswami’ and two, it was an 11.30 Air India flight.

So Palaniswami arrived at the airport around 10.20 am, unlike his usual practice of making a last minute entry, and left without the usual hullabaloo with only personal security officer accompanying hi and reached Delhi by 12.15 pm after which a photograph of him sitting in the newly opened AIADMK office in a seat below his own portrait was released by the party.

The picture also showed two men sitting in front of the general secretary though it was released without a caption mentioning anything about the purpose of the visit or identifying those seated in front of him. However it was said that they were party Rajya Sabha members M Thambidurai and C V Shanmugham, who were already in Delhi to attend the Parliament session.

Then two senior AIADMK leaders, K P Munusamy and S P Velumani, took an Indigo Airlines flight to Delhi at 2.50 pm, to join Palaniswami who is rumoured to have been given an appointment by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to meet him at 7.30 pm. But when media persons accosted Palaniswami as he stepped out of the AIADMK office, he promised to meet them on Wednesday, saying that he would be in the national capital for one more day.

The unexpected trip also echoed in the State Assembly, to which Palaniswami gave miss, with Chief Minister M K Stalin making a mention of it while replying to special call attention resolution on the continuation of the two-language policy in the State and requesting the AIADMK chief to take up the matter with ‘whomever he was meeting’ and press for the continuation of the two-language policy.

One of the rumours floating around was that an alliance between AIADMK and BJP would be clinched in the meeting with Amit Shah. Another rumour was that the disputes over the ‘two leaves’ symbol would be sorted out at the meeting. Whatever it is, Palaniswami had promised to reveal it to the Delhi media on Wednesday.

It is said that the leader of Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), G K Vasan, was the go between leader in the alliance talks and that he met Amit Shah during the day, ahead of Palaniswami calling on Shah.