AIADMK Escalates Poaching Issue To Gov

Apart from the four rebel MLAs of the AIADMK, who had resigned their posts with a view to joining the TVK, many leaders in the lower rungs of the party hierarchy were moving to the TVK, probably with the hope of getting nominations in the local body elections, caused concern among the party top brass.

Referring to the defection of four MLAs –K Maragatham Kumaravel from Madurantakam, S Jayakumar of Perundurai, P Sathyabama of Dharampuram and Esakki Subaya of Ambasamudram – the AIADMK leaders said that they were among the 25 MLAs against whom action had been demanded from the Speaker J C D Prabhakar for violating the party whip.

Apart from not acting on the complaint against the four MLAs, the Speaker had made a mistake by accepting their resignations, the AIADMK leaders pointed out in their memorandum to the Governor. The rebel group of 25 MLAs, led by former Ministers S P Velumani and C Ve Shanmugham, had voted in favour of the TVK government in the floor test to prove their majority in the Assembly on May 13, defying the whip issued by Krishnamurthy.

While Velumani, along with most of the MLAs in the rebel group, has patched up with party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and pledged to work unitedly in the interest of the party, Shanmugham and another former Minister C Vijayabaskar kept away the reconciliation process without explaining their position.

Other than the four MLAs, Shanmugham and Vijayabaskar, the other rebels have joined the party mainstream while several leaders at the lower levels and those without elected posts were migrating to the TVK directly since they do not attract the provisions of the anti-defection law. But since it is a big loss to the party, the leaders met the Governor.

They alleged that money was being paid to the party leaders lured by the TVK and wanted the Governor to take action against the party for the anti-democratic act.