CHENNAI: Election Commission of India on Monday adjourned the hearing in the Two Leaves symbol case to Wednesday following demands from the EPS-OPS camp to present their counter to arguments made by the rival TTV camp. Lawyers from the EPS-OPS camp led by former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi sought time from the EC to present their views on issues and points raised by TTV faction represented by senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Heeding to demands from Rohatgi, the full bench of the EC adjourned hearing to Wednesday to enable the lawyers to present their case.
After the hearing was adjourned, senior leader of the EPS-OPS camp K. P. Munusamy told reporters that the rival camp was dragging the issue of appointment of V. K. Sasikala as interim general secretary of the AIADMK without any connection. “This case is related only to Two Leaves symbol. But these people are dragging other issues into the case, deliberately delaying it,” Munusamy said. He also expressed the hope that the EC would come out with its order by the end of this week.
O. Panneerselvam and E. Madhusudhanan had filed the case after they rebelled against the then interim general secretary V K Sasikala staking claim for the Two Leaves symbol. As the EPS and OPS factions merged, Dhinakaran knocked at the doors of the Election Commission asking it not to pass any orders without hearing their side. Both the factions have staked claim to the “Two Leaves symbol, which holds sway over people from different generation since it is associated with the charisma of late M G Ramachandran.
This is the second time in 29 years that rival claims over Two Leaves symbol has reached the EC. In the aftermath of MGR's death in 1987, the AIADMK split into two factions - J. Jayalalithaa and V. N. Janaki - and since both the groups staked claim over the symbol, the Election Commission kept it under freeze and allotted new symbol for both factions. Later, the symbol was defreezed after the party was united.
