No plans to reinstate OPS, says AIADMK

AIADMK's RB Udayakumar denies plans to reinstate O Panneerselvam after Lok Sabha results. No secret meetings reported. OPS contested against AIADMK in Ramanathapuram.

Chennai: Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, RB Udayakumar said there were no plans to reinstate expelled leader O Panneerselvam (OPS) in All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) after the results of the Lok Sabha elections are announced on June 4. His remarks came amid several media reports claiming the AIADMK was holding secret meetings to unite its expelled leaders with the party.

Palaniswami has been steadfast in his decision that he will not take back OPS, Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran back in AIADMK (PTI)

“There is no evidence to support these media reports. There are no secret meetings,” Udayakumar told reporters in Madurai. “I’m saying this after having a word with party general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami that under no circumstance will the AIADMK take back O Panneerselvam,” Udayakumar, who replaced OPS as the Tamil Nadu LoP, added.

“O Panneerselvam first introduced a split in the AIADMK because he feared he would lose his position,” Udayakumar said as he recounted the chain of events following J Jayalalithaa’s demise in December 2016, when her close confidante VK Sasikala made Palaniswami the head of AIADMK before going to jail.

“OPS, who had rebelled against Sasikala, was brought back by Palaniswami as the party wanted to adopt a dual leadership, and together they ousted Sasikala. We brought him back but he started opposing every decision that we took, thereby, stifling the AIADMK’s growth,” Udayakumar said.

“OPS waged several battles in the Supreme Court and Madras High Court against his expulsion from the party but did not get any relief,” Udayakumar said.

Slamming the expelled leader’s decision to contest the Lok Sabha elections against an AIADMK candidate from Ramanathapuram seat, Udayakumar said, “How is this decision fair? He keeps betraying the party.”

OPS contested the general elections on a free symbol in the BJP-led NDA alliance.

Notably, Palaniswami has been steadfast in his decision that he will not take back OPS, Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran back in AIADMK. Tamil Nadu went to polls in the first phase on April 19 where Dhinakaran’s party Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam (AMMK) contested two Lok Sabha seats in alliance with the BJP.

“These rumours are being spread because reports are doing the round that people have overwhelmingly voted for the AIADMK. The party cadres will not want those expelled to be taken back and Palaniswami will never do something that irks the cadres,” Udayakumar said.