O Panneerselvam’s two sons and 16 other leaders have been sacked
Chennai:
Tamil Nadu’s opposition AIADMK has sacked two sons of political rival O Panneerselvam and 16 other leaders led by E Palaniswami. Panneerselvam was sacked a few days ago amid an ongoing tussle over control of the party.
The party’s Lok Sabha member from Theni constituency, Rabindranath and both sons of O Panneerselvam, and former minister Vellamandi N Natarajan K Jayapradeep, were among those expelled.
On Monday, Mr Palaniswami, or EPS, was on his way to become the party’s single supreme leader when the Madras High Court pushed forward the party’s crucial general council meeting.
The High Court ruling put an end to the dual-led model in the AIADMK after EPS was elevated as the party’s interim general secretary.
O Panneerselvam or OPS was expelled for “anti-party” activities.
The AIADMK General Council, while abolishing the posts of coordinator and joint coordinator held by OPS and EPS respectively, had cited difficulty and dissatisfaction in decision-making among party cadres.
The General Council, with over 2,500 members, empowered the EPS to run the party as a supreme leader.
The EPS and some senior party leaders had also accused the OPS of favoring the ruling DMK regime and working to weaken the AIADMK.
The court had dismissed the OPS’s plea seeking a stay on the meeting called by the EPS-led faction.