TIRUCHI/CHENNAI: Rebel leader TTV Dhinakaran on Tuesday claimed that the three Rajya Sabha MPs who jumped the ship to EPS camp had informed him about their plans and that they have promised to come back once he gets the Two Leaves symbol. The remark prompted Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar to term it as the “joke of the year”.
Speaking to reporters in Tiruchy, Dhinakaran also justified his supporters using the official AIADMK party flag since the “Election Commission has not barred us from using it”.
He also reiterated that he would contest the December 21 by-election to R K Nagar constituency and insisted that the competition would be limited only to him and the DMK nominee, N Marudhu Ganesh.
On AIADMK taking objection to his supporters using the party flag, Dhinakaran claimed the 87-page order that recognised the EPS-OPS faction as AIADMK mentioned only about the Two Leaves symbol and nothing about the flag. “So we can use it. Also, we are also going for an appeal. Let the Election Commission tell us that it has included the flag too”, he said.
Dhinakaran also claimed that ministers of the AIADMK government are targeting him only to escape “I-T raids” and action from the Union Government. Asked about three of his supporters — A Navaneethakrishnan, Gokulakrishnan and Vijila Sathyanand who are all Rajya Sabha MPs - jumping ship to EPS camp, Dhinakaran said he was aware of their plans and insisted that the lawmakers had discussed it with him.
“All three spoke to me while I was on my way to Tiruchy on Monday evening. They told me that they have assured that they would come back to my camp after I secure the Two Leaves symbol”, he said.
In a strong reaction to Dhinakaran's claims, Jayakumar told reporters in Chennai that his statement could only be termed as “joke of the year.” “I can only say that it is the joke of the year,” he said, when asked to comment on Dhinakaran's statement. He also said action would be taken against Dhinakaran's supporters if they continue to use the AIADMK flag since it was the property of the party.
Jayakumar also said there were no differences within the AIADMK on naming the candidate for by-polls and dismissed reports that he was opposing the candidature of E Madhusudhanan. Jayakumar's cabinet colleague Sellur K Raju reacted in a similar way by calling Dhinakaran's statement as “joke of the 21st century.”
