Well-wishers and party cadre have launched a drive to save the AIADMK Government from the crisis arising out of the rebellion by TTV Dinakaran and the 19 MlAs owing allegiance to him.
S Semmalai, senior leader who was a close associate of party founder late MG Ramachandran and late J Jayalalithaa is in discussion with leaders of both the factions, including Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami. Semmalai met Palaniswami on Thursday and had an hour long discussion on how to resolve all outstanding issues in the party to the satisfaction of all.
“We are not denying the fact that there are some issues. I told the CM that there are no issues in the party which could not be sorted out through dialogues. After all, we are all members of the same party who owe a lot to both MGR and Jayalalithaa,” Semmalai told The Pioneer. He said that during his meeting, he impressed upon the CM the need to call all the party MlAs for discussion and find out solutions to resolve the problems. “If the Government falls, the 1.5 crore strong cadre of the party won’t excuse us,” he said.
The General Council meeting of the AIADMK on September 12 may find an amicable solution to the crisis, said Semmalai. He said VK Sasikala was elected as general secretary of the party on December 29, 2016 after the demise of Jayalalithaa. “But since then we saw a lot of things happening in the party. Right now it is known to one and all that Sasikala is not in a position to discharge her responsibilities as general secretary,” pointed out Semmalai, a former Minister in Jayalalithaa Cabinet.
Sasikala, along with her sister-in-law J Ilavarasi and nephew Sudhakaran, are serving imprisonment of four years at Parappana Agrahara Jail in Bengaluru in connection with the disproportionate asset case. “There is a school of thought in the party to abolish once and forever the post of general secretary. Instead of it, we will have a system of collective leadership,” said Semmalai. The General Council is expected to adopt a resolution in this regard, he added.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy held discussions with various interlocutors to sort out the present crisis in Tamil Nadu. “It is a fact that Palaniswami has lost the right to be CM because of the revolt by the 23 MlAs owing allegiance to Dinakaran. The move by Palaniswami and company to ease out Sasikala from the party leadership would lead to the disintegration of the AIADMK. This will strengthen the DMK which is not good either for Tamil Nadu or for India,” said Dr Swamy at Chennai.
He said that Governor C Vidhyasagar Rao was right in his decision not to convene the Assembly. “The 19 AAIADMK MlAs in their letter had told the Governor that they had lost trust in the Chef Minister. Had they told him that they had lost trust in the Government, the Governor would have asked Palaniswami to seek a trust vote,” said the BJP leader.
Swamy said Speaker Dhnapal would be the ideal replacement for Palaniswami. “let Palaniswami continue as a Minister in the Cabinet headed by Dhanapal. I feel it is neither fair nor possible for the AIADMK to dump Sasikala at this juncture. She wields considerable influence in the party,” said Swamy.
Interestingly, there are similarities between the way of thinking of Swamy, Semmalai and VK Divakaran, brother of Sasikala which has brought new hope to diehard AIADMK fans. Semmalai said he too was not for ousting Sasikala from the party.
“Panneerselvam had told that his Dharma Yudh was against a single family wielding influence over the party and the Government. That situation is not there right now. Sasikala was with late Jayalalithaa for more than three decades as her shadow. It makes her a part of the AIADMK and we are not against her,” said Semmalai.