AT A meeting called by the dominant Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) faction here on Monday the AIADMK came down hard on O Panneerselvam (OPS) calling him an “epitome of betrayal” and appointed EPS as in-charge of party’s administrative affairs until the next general council meeting, scheduled for July 11.
D Jayakumar, the party’s organisational secretary and spokesman, said the positions of OPS and EPS –as coordinator and joint coordinator respectively — who led the dual leadership, are no longer valid.
“Of the 75 district secretaries, 65 of them agreed with the decision to appoint EPS in-charge of party administration. Four of them were not there because they were sick. Now, only six people are left in the OPS camp,” Jayakumar said, when asked if the move was legally valid.
Jayakumar said that a decision about the top post would be made at the general council. “But it is confidential, can’t be talked about right now,” he said.
Asked about OPS and his role in the party system, Jayakumar said, “Section 20(7) of the bylaw explains why the administrative control was given to EPS in absence of coordinators. These are some of the most basic rules of the party. I’m not sure if OPS doesn’t know about it or is just pretending to be ignorant.”
He called OPS the “most blatant example of betrayal”. “Since the beginning, everyone has known about several instances in which he betrayed the party…,” he said.
Jayakumar also slammed OPS’s son O P Raveendranath, who is the only MP for AIADMK, referring to the latter’s recent meeting with Chief Minister M K Stalin and his comments praising the DMK government’s “hard work”.Jayakumar also made it clear that OPS’s name was taken out of the founders’ column on the masthead of AIADMK’s mouthpiece Namadhu Amma for “betraying the party’s interests”.After OPS reached Theni on Sunday night, the majority faction decided to call a meeting for Monday. “It was a quick answer to OPS, who tried to get BJP involved in our party (affairs/crisis) again…,” a senior AIADMK leader said, referring to OPS’s Delhi trip last week that reportedly aimed at seeking help from BJP, which is an ally of the AIADMK in the state, to resolve the crisis in the party. The BJP, however, is seemingly distancing itself from OPS as the majority is rallying behind EPS.
