CHENNAI: O Panneerselvam (OPS), who travelled to Gujarat on Monday to witness chief minister Bhupendra Patel’s oath ceremony, also met top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the sidelines of the event but his supporters insisted that OPS didn’t discuss Tamil Nadu politics or his continuing tug-of-war with Edapaddi Palaniswami, or EPS.
EPS, the AIADMK’s interim general secretary, was invited to the oath ceremony but gave it a miss. Instead, he wrote to Bhupendra Patel. “Even though I am eager to attend the swearing-in ceremony, I am not in a position to attend the same in view of my important prior commitments on 12th Dec, 2022,” EPS said in his letter.
“I convey my best wishes and I am confident that Gujarat will continue to progress during your tenure as chief minister,” added EPS.
OPS was there, along with his son and MP O Ravindran who was also expelled from the AIADMK during the massive churning at the general council meeting of the party in June.
In video clips and photographs, OPS and his son were seen speaking with BJP chief JP Nadda and national secretary BL Santosh. In some photographs, OPS also had a saffron scarf around his neck.
“They welcomed us with saffron shawls. We did not even discuss the political situation. We only spoke of the party’s victory in Gujarat,” said a supporter of OPS, the deposed AIADMK coordinator who is struggling to reclaim his position in the party. He has also challenged the decision of the general council which threw him out of the party along with his supporters; the petition is pending in the Supreme Court.
{{/usCountry}}“They welcomed us with saffron shawls. We did not even discuss the political situation. We only spoke of the party’s victory in Gujarat,” said a supporter of OPS, the deposed AIADMK coordinator who is struggling to reclaim his position in the party. He has also challenged the decision of the general council which threw him out of the party along with his supporters; the petition is pending in the Supreme Court.
{{/usCountry}}The OPS faction received a setback last week when the Centre’s parliamentary minister Prahlad Joshi acknowledged EPS as the interim general secretary and invited him for the all-party meeting which included chief minister and DMK president M K Stalin in Delhi.
OPS is learnt to have protested being kept out of the meeting by Prahlad Joshi.
“OPS said when the Election Commission and Supreme Court have not recognised EPS as the AIADMK’s only leader, how could they invite only him (EPS),” said a veteran AIADMK leader, adding that they will be able to get a sense of the BJP’s thinking once OPS gets a reply.