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Journalism of Courage
The battle between Edappadi K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam played out on the floor of the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Thursday, after Speaker M Appavu allowed the latter to speak on behalf of the AIADMK.
The entire AIADMK contingent, led by Palaniswami or EPS, was up in arms, calling this “inappropriate” given that Panneerselvam or OPS had lost successive bids to lay claim to the party, at multiple levels.
What lay beneath the AIADMK’s vociferous protests was the suspicion that the Speaker’s move was part of the DMK government’s attempts to keep its intra-party tussle boiling.
As soon as OPS had finished speaking, EPS objected, followed by senior AIADMK leaders, who said OPS had been expelled from the party and hence could not represent it in the House.
Appavu tried to justify saying he had given OPS the opportunity as he was a senior member of the House and former chief minister. He also asserted that he had not addressed OPS as Deputy Leader of Opposition, a position held by him previously.
With all AIADMK MLAs on EPS’s side, OPS only had loyalist P H Manoj Pandian speaking up for him. As the verbal dual heated up, with DMK members relishing the exchange, senior leader and AIADMK deputy general secretary K P Munusamy urged party MLAs to cool down and not let things escalate.
The AIADMK saw a DMK grand design behind what transpired as it believes the state government has been trying to add fuel to the tension within the party. Last July, when the AIADMK headquarters saw violence, with supporters of EPS and OPS clashing, questions were asked about why the state police had allowed OPS men to gather and use force to enter the office. Later, the court too had criticised the police.
The AIADMK leadership has accused the DMK of favouring OPS in other ways too. Even the seating arrangement in the Assembly on Thursday, with OPS and EPS occupying adjacent seats, was viewed with distrust by the AIADMK.
With almost all windows closed as far as control of the AIADMK goes, OPS’s utility for other parties is on the decline, including the BJP and RSS. OPS is said to be exploring other options, such as AIADMK rebel V K Sasikala and T T V Dhinakaran’s AMMK, but there is nothing concrete on this yet.
Now, all eyes are on Friday, when voting will take place for the AIADMK general secretary’s post. Though an interim order of the Madras High Court has stayed the announcement of the result, few are in doubt about the outcome.
