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‘Forgery’, ‘misinformation’: TVK vs AMMK over letter of support to Vijay amid Tamil Nadu government suspense
TVK, which is one MLA short of the magic figure of 118, gave a letter of support from AMMK’s lone MLA to governor on Friday, which the latter denied offering.
The Game of Thrones in Tamil Nadu took a new turn on Friday after a row emerged between Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) led by TTV Dhinakaran over a letter of support for the former.
Amid the suspense over who will lead Tamil Nadu after the recent elections gave out a hung assembly, TVK — which is now one MLA short of the magic figure of 118 — gave a letter of support from AMMK’s lone MLA to the governor on Friday.
However, AMMK chief TTV Dhinakaran, whose party is an ally of the NDA, called it “forgery” and a case of “horse trading”. TVK also hit back, accusing Dhinakaran of spreading “misinformation”.
The AMMK-TVK support row
The row began when AMMK chief TTV Dhinakaran reacted to a letter, reportedly from the party’s lone MLA S Kamaraj, that reached the Tamil Nadu governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, extending support to Vijay's TVK to form the government.
According to Dhinakaran, AMMK's lone MLA-elect remains loyal to the NDA and AIADMK, and the letter was a case of “horse trading and forgery”. He even officially backed AIADMK's Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) for the CM post, calling him the alliance's rightful candidate.
Dhinakaran then rushed to the Lok Bhavan later on Friday to deliver a letter to the Governor in a bid to correct the record.
Speaking with the media after the meeting with the Governor, TTV Dhinakaran said he had written a letter supporting AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi Palaniswami earlier in the day, and that it was signed by AMMK's MLA-elect, Kamaraj S.
"It appears that TVK has submitted what seems to be a copy of our MLA support letter, which is actually a forged letter. So, I have requested the Governor to investigate the matter. We are also going to the police station to file a complaint regarding the forged letter issued in my MLA's name. Because we have only a single MLA, they thought they could easily misuse him to form the government. The Governor took the matter very seriously and said that he would take the necessary steps. We urged him not to allow these people involved in forgery to form the government,” he said.
Vijay's TVK hits back
However, TVK refuted the "forged letter" claim and shared a video, stating that AMMK leader Kamaraj had backed the party in forming a government.
TVK further accused Dhinakaran of spreading misinformation while concealing facts related to the matter. The party, which won 108 seats in the polls and fell short of the majority mark of 118, asserted that it did not need to "bargain or negotiate" for support.
"These are the visuals of AMMK MLA Kamaraj voluntarily and happily writing a letter expressing his support for the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. He had stated that he was extending support to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam with the approval of AMMK General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran," TVK stated.
"However, the information now being spread that he did not write the letter is completely false and contrary to the truth. It is essential for everyone to clearly understand this. Concealing all these facts, TTV Dhinakaran is continuing to spread false news and misinformation. The public should understand that the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam has no need to bargain or negotiate with anyone," TVK further said.
The Tamil Nadu math for the next CM
The TVK, which won 108 seats, has sought support from several smaller camps to touch the magical number of 118 seats in the 234-seat Assembly.
The CPI, CPI(M), which has two seats each, and Congress, with five seats, had already extended support to the Vijay-led TVK to move forward with a change from the traditional Dravidian DMK-AIADMK duopoly.
This means that Vijay needs just one more seat to touch the majority mark and become the first non-DMK and non-AIADMK chief minister of the state since 1967. That one seat is expected to come from the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), which is yet to officially announce its backing.
