AIADMK Rebels Boycott Founding Day Celebrations Despite Invite to Meet EPS

Chennai: None of the rebel AIADMK leaders turned up for the AIADMK’s 55th founding day celebrations at the party headquarters here despite the open call by party general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s loyalist ‘Agri’ S. Krishnamurthy to meet the party leader and hold consultations on the differences.

The rebels including former ministers S.P.Velumani, C. V. Shanmugam and P. Thangamani hoisted the AIADMK flag and celebrated the event in their home districts.

Palaniswami who garlanded the statues of party founder MGR and his successor J. Jayalalithaa asserted that the party would overcome the challenges and emerge like a phoenix. He further said no one could ruin the party which had faced similar challenges in the past.

This is a historic day and golden day as MGR founded it to enact good schemes for the people. He said Jayalalithaa faced many challenges, crises and miseries but she turned all of them into achievements, protecting the party in a courageous manner. Former ministers D. Jayakumar, P. Valarmathi, S. Gokula Indira and Pollachi V. Jayaraman were present on the occasion.

None of the rebel leaders including former ministers C.V. Shanmugam, S.P. Velumani, ‘Natham’ R. Viswanathan, K.P. Anbazhagan and the MLAs who are with them took part in the founding day celebrations at the headquarters.

On Wednesday, former minister ‘Agri’ S. Krishnamurthy who met the Governor and submitted a complaint against the TVK alleging that the party is carrying out ‘horse’trading’ of AIADMK legislators invited the rebel leaders to meet the AIADMK leader in person since he is ready to sacrifice anything to protect the party.

Krishnamurthy said the rebel leaders like former minister C.V. Shanmugam should meet the general secretary and convey their opinions. Krishnamurthy also said Palaniswami would convene the general council at the appropriate time, asserting the AIADMK general secretary is ready to take along everyone. Despite his open call, none of the rebels met Palaniswami and expressed any intention to meet him. The party dissidents were stripped of their party posts held before the Assembly elections and their supporters who held posts at the district level were also removed from their posts. The rebels need 28 MLAs to break away from the party and function separately in the Assembly.