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AIADMK slugfest continues: Don’t allow anyone else to use party accounts, OPS tells bank
Away from the action but still aiming to be connected is VK Sasikala who joined hands with her estranged brother V Dhivakaran’s political outfit who wants to support her to merge all factions and reclaim the AIADMK.
A day after elevation of Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) as interim general secretary of AIADMK and O Panneerselvam (OPS) being expelled from the party, slugfest between the two former chief ministers continued on Tuesday, with OPS writing a letter to a private bank stating that he is still party treasurer and anybody else should not be allowed to operate party accounts.
Away from the action but still aiming to be connected is VK Sasikala who joined hands with her estranged brother V Dhivakaran’s political outfit who wants to support her to merge all factions and reclaim the AIADMK.
While EPS has been thanking political leaders, who have been wishing him on his appointment, OPS shot off a letter to a private bank stating that the EPS-appointed Dindigul Srinivasan replacing him as treasurer and expelling him during the July 11 general council meeting is illegal. OPS said he was still the coordinator and treasurer according to the records of the election commission of India and anyone else operating the AIADMK’s accounts in this bank would amount to a violation.
OPS requested the bank not to operate AIADMK’s accounts by Srinivasan or any other person authorised him on the basis that he was the treasurer for several years appointed by late J Jayalalithaa and the coordinator since 2017 and given that his pleas are pending before the Madras high court and Supreme Court.
OPS said he has been operating three accounts in the bank – an AIADMK party account, a party headquarters building fund and a party development fund along with several fixed deposits in the name of the party.
“Inspite of this, if you allow any other person other than me to operate the aforesaid accounts in the name of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, you will be held responsible for any misuse or misappropriations of account,” OPS said in his letter to the manager of the bank on Tuesday. In the July 11 meeting, the general council abolished the two posts created and occupied by OPS as coordinator and EPS as joint coordinator since 2017.
EPS on Tuesday also moved to Madras high court seeking the AIADMK headquarters in Chennai’s Royapettah to be opened after revenue officials locked and sealed the premises on Monday following a clash between supporters of him and OPS.
Justice N Satish Kumar of the Madras high court is likely to hear the petition on Wednesday.
Just like OPS, who is fighting against his expulsion as being illegal, Sasikala too has not accepted that OPS and EPS removed her from the position of interim general secretary in 2017. She continues to identify herself as the AIADMK’s general secretary and on Tuesday, in Thanjavur district, she claimed that the AIADMK has merged with Amma Ani floated by her brother Dhivakaran in 2018.
“My intention is to unite all the factions and bring the AIADMK to its former status,” said Sasikala. Dhivakaran said everyone in his party, who are disgruntled AIADMK members, want to support Sasikala unanimously. Sasikala’s nephew TTV Dhinakaran, who was also removed as deputy general secretary in 2017, floated the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) in 2018 with a breakaway faction and Sasikala’s supporters. Dhivakaran said it was up to Dhinakaran whether he wanted to merge the faction.
