First expel Sasikala, Dhinakaran, then we'll talk: OPS camp to EPS on merger

Chennai: The O Panneerselvam faction of the AIADMK on Monday said that there could be no talks with the Edappadi K Palanisamy faction until party general secretary VK Sasikala Natarajan and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran were expelled from the party.

The Panneerselvam camp also reiterated its demand for a probe into late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s death, as a precondition for talks on an AIADMK merger, reports said.

For two days, it had appeared as if the Panneerselvam and Palanisamy camps would on Monday begin talks.

But two events – one on Sunday and the other on Monday – triggered the hardening of stance by the Panneerselvam faction. First, Tamil Nadu finance minister D Jayakumar said that he would resign and give his portfolios to the OPS camp. Implicit in this offer was the assertion that E Palanisamy would remain the CM in the event of an AIADMK merger, thus scuttling Panneerselvam’s chances.

Secondly, AIADMK (Amma) official newspaper Namadhu MGR carried an article in Monday's edition which said general secretary VK Sasikala and deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran would be supported by people and party cadre.

Responding to this, the OPS group claimed that Sasikala Natarajan was still in control of the party. "The headline on page 1 of the paper clearly states that Sasikala is still in control of the party. It states that Dhinakaran and Sasikala will be supported. This proves our doubt that the party is still in their hands," KP Munusamy, member of OPS' negotiations committee and former minister, was quoted as saying in a report.

Munusamy said there was a lot of confusion in the rival camp, with different statements being made. He said that while some members of the EPS camp claimed that a committee had been formed for talks, others said it was yet to be formed. Munusamy also said AIADMK (Amma) leaders were making ‘irresponsible statements’ like that of D Jayakumar.

"We are not ready to get into the argument on the position for our leader. We have no other demands than the two raised previously. If these are fulfilled, we will participate in the talks unconditionally as all other issues can be thrashed out in talks," Munusamy was quoted as saying.