OPS camp sets Tuesday deadline for talks, Panneerselvam to go on TN tour

Chennai: The Panneerselvam faction of AIADMK on Sunday set Tuesday as the deadline for talks with the ruling E Palanisamy camp of the party.

It also announced that the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister would undertake a statewide tour soon.

Mettur MLA S Semmalai, who had organised a meeting of party cadre last week, was quoted in a report as saying that, "He (Panneerselvam) will commence the tour from Kancheepuram."

A senior member from the committee formed by the Panneerselvam camp for talks reportedly added that, "whichever way the talks go, we expect to arrive at a clear picture. In fact, our deadline is Tuesday".

He also claimed that there is a possibility of some members of the Palanisamy camp coming over to the Panneerselvam side in the next few days.

However, another report claimed that the Panneerselvam tour would begin in the first week of June.

At Semmalai’s meeting last week, some party cadre reportedly expressed disapproval of talks with the Palanisamy camp. Panneerselvam will embark on the tour from May 5 to increase his support, and also to prepare the faction for local body polls, said a report.

He may also appoint district-level officers during the tour.

Panneerselvam is likely to speak at a public meeting on Monday, to drum up support among the public.

The OPS camp has put forth two demands which it says must be fulfilled for talks to commence. The first is the ouster of AIADMK chief Sasikala Natarajan and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran from the party. The second is a CBI enquiry into late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s death.