The General Secretary of AIADMK Edappadi K Palaniswami will chair a party meet with key office-bearers, including the district secretaries and MLAs on Monday to discuss the strained ties with the BJP, its former ally.
(File photo/PTI)
An AIADMK delegation flew to the national capital on Friday and met BJP president J P Nadda and Union Minister Piyush Goyal, in-charge of Tamil Nadu, asking for their intervention in making Annamalai apologise
AIADMK on Monday decided to break all ties with the BJP and NDA, giving it setback to the ruling alliance at the Centre.
“The state leadership of the BJP has been continuously making unnecessary remarks on our former leaders, our general secretary EPS and our cadres for the past one year. In today’s meeting, this resolution was passed unanimously,” said the party.
Celebrations took place outside AIADMK headquarters in Chennai following the party’s decision to sever ties with the BJP. The party’s high-level meeting adopted a unanimous resolution criticising the BJP TN unit for deliberately attacking AIADMK icons and ideology.
The General Secretary of AIADMK Edappadi K Palaniswami chaired a party meeting with key office-bearers, including the district secretaries and MLAs on Monday to discuss ties with the BJP.
“BJP state unit does not have sanctity for us. It keeps on attacking our leaders. BJP high command has failed to take any action against Annamalai. BJP needs us more than we need them,” an AIADMK spokesperson told CNN-News18.
#WATCH | Chennai: “We never sought the meetings with Amit Shah (Union Home Minister) nor did he refuse. These are all wrong speculations. The meeting with JP Nadda (BJP National president), the outcome from Nadda that’s also wrong. The outcome of this meeting will put to rest all… pic.twitter.com/5yKsdppLH9— ANI (@ANI) September 25, 2023
Speaking to ANI, AIADMK Spokesperson Kovai Sathyan said, “We never sought the meetings with Amit Shah (Union Home Minister) nor did he refuse. These are all wrong speculations”. He also said, “Whatever the decision of the General Secretary that is full and final and binding upon every cadre of AIADMK”.
An AIADMK delegation flew to the national capital on Friday and met BJP president J P Nadda and Union Minister Piyush Goyal, in-charge of Tamil Nadu, asking for their intervention in making Annamalai apologise.
Following an argument over certain remarks by the BJP state chief K Annamalai against late Dravidian stalwart CN Annadurai, senior AIADMK leader D Jayakumar had called off the alliance between the two parties on September while claiming that Annamalai was conveying the party’s stand on the issue.
Earlier, Jayakumar had also said that any decision regarding the coalition will be taken during polls. He further said that his party workers will not tolerate any insult to the late chief minister.
Jayakumar said that since Annamalai had made critical remarks about AIADMK leaders including the late J Jayalalithaa, the party had sought that the BJP leader be restrained.
“He is criticising Anna, Periyar and the General Secretary. No cadre would accept this. Tomorrow we have to work on the field. So without any option, we announced this. There won’t be any impact on us with this decision. We are confident of our victory,” he said.
Top BJP sources, had however said that any issues between AIADMK and the state party unit will be sorted out amicably. They also said that the rumours of no alliance between the two parties are untrue.
A senior party leader had said on Saturday that the central leadership of BJP, though not in so many words, conveyed that it backed the aggressive politics of Annamalai for the party’s development.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Jayakumar said, “There is no change in our September 18 stand… there is no alliance with BJP.” He declined to speak further on the matter, indicating it might come up for discussion on September 25.
