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AIADMK distances itself from leader’s jibe on BJP
Palaniswami did not take questions on Ponnaiyan’s statement but he tore into BJP leader V P Duraisamy when a reporter asked for his reaction on the latter’s comment that the AIADMK was “ineffective” as an opposition party inside and outside the legislative assembly.
Chennai: The AIADMK on Friday disassociated itself from the comments made by their veteran leader C Ponnaiyan against their ally BJP.
On Tuesday, Ponnaiyan, one of the founding members of the AIADMK, in an internal party meeting said that the BJP was trying to grow at AIADMK’s cost and he urged their IT wing to expose on social media the BJP’s stance on several issues which were not in Tamil Nadu’s favour.
“Annan (older brother) Ponnaiyan’s remarks should be considered his own,” AIADMK’s coordinator O Panneerselvam told reporters while he was flanked by coordinator Edappadi Palaniswami and other senior party leaders.
Palaniswami did not take questions on Ponnaiyan’s statement but he tore into BJP leader V P Duraisamy when a reporter asked for his reaction on the latter’s comment that the AIADMK was “ineffective” as an opposition party inside and outside the legislative assembly. Duraisamy, a former DMK man, had criticised the Ponnaiyan’s statement that the Dravidian party was failing to perform the role of the opposition.
Palaniswami said on Friday that the entire state knew how the AIADMK was raising issues concerning people in the assembly. “We don’t need any certificates from Duraisamy. AIADMK has been functioning as an effective opposition party. People know who the opposition is. We are doing our job in the right earnest,” Palaniswami said. “We all know where he (Duraisamy) came from. We don’t need any conduct certificate from him. We are committed to one party. I have been in AIADMK since 1974.”
A senior AIADMK leader on condition of anonymity told HT that Ponnaiyan had explicitly said what several party cadres feel. “This issue will be debated in the upcoming General Council meeting to be held on 23rd later this month,” he said.
A video clip of Ponnaiyan’s speech from May 31 began circulating on social media, leading to the war of words between both sides. Ponnaiyan has been interacting with various media since Wednesday and said that the AIADMK’s ideology was diametrically opposite to that of the BJP but said that all is well with the alliance. He also added that the BJP cannot grow in the state unless it changes its ideology and stands on sensitive issues like Cauvery and Hindi imposition.
Meanwhile, the six candidates to fill the Rajya Sabha vacancies were elected unopposed on Friday. It comprises three from the ruling DMK --Thanjai S Kalyanasundaram, K R N Rajeshkumar, and R Girirajan. One seat went to DMK’s main ally the Congress with former union finance minister P Chidambaram set to enter the upper house and two from the opposition AIADMK - C Ve Shanmugam and R Dharmar.
