AIADMK rebel faction says EPS should shake off his ‘I am everything’ stance, ready to talk if he calls
Chennai: AIADMK rebel faction leader S.P. Velumani Friday said party general secretary Edapaddi K. Palaniswami (EPS) “still fails to grasp the true situation” and that no one has ever denied or spoken against Edappadi’s campaign efforts anywhere. In the post on X, Velumani further called for talks between the two factions and urged EPS to reach out instead of pushing them away.
Velumani’s statement, in which he also criticised the manner in which alliance and election decisions were taken without wider consultation, came a day after EPS’ strong condemnation of the rebel faction.
Velumani stated that after the AIADMK’s defeat in the Tamil Nadu assembly polls, the leadership should have taken moral responsibility and initiated talks with all sections.
“Instead of doing that, you continue to speak only from the stance of ‘I alone am everything’, as always, a stance that no party worker will ever accept. This is the only view that we, the majority of party MLAs, the party’s senior office-bearers, district party secretaries, and we as workers, are expressing as our opinion,” Velumani said.
EPS Wednesday expelled 25 MLAs of the Velumani faction, accusing them of betraying the party by voting in favour of Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) during the floor test. EPS described their action as driven by selfish interests, including alleged offers of ministerial posts and board chairmanships.
With respect to backing the TVK, Velumani said in his post that the rebel MLAs were respecting the people’s verdict by extending support to the party as the majority group in the legislature. He emphasised that apart from extending the support to the TVK government, which has the people’s mandate, none of the rebel leaders had any intention of disrespecting anyone or of splitting the AIADMK.
Velumani proposed reconciliation, saying: “In the statement (EPS’), you said ‘I am ready to make any sacrifice’. We ask you just one thing, instead of chasing us away with ‘go, go’, as you always do, try calling us once with ‘come, come’.”
He said that if EPS calls them, they are ready to talk. He urged everyone to come together, examine the reasons for the defeat, and jointly determine the party’s future path. He asserted that if EPS called them once, everything will change and the party will be fine.
Both AIADMK factions have approached the Assembly Speaker with disqualification petitions against each other. The EPS-led faction has sought disqualification of the 25 rebel MLAs for defying the party whip during the floor test. The rebel group led by Velumani and C.V. Shanmugam, claiming to represent the majority, has filed counter-petitions seeking action against loyalists of EPS.
The Speaker is yet to take a decision on the disqualification notices, which could significantly impact the strength of both factions in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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