The political foes-turned-friends, former AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam and AMMK general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran, on Tuesday jointly urged the DMK government to fulfil its electoral promise of conducting a through probe into the 2017 murder and heist at former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s Kodanad estate in the Nilgiris.
At a protest meeting in Theni, Mr. Panneerselvam’s hometown, the two leaders alleged that the probe was not moving in the right direction. Sharing the dais, they alleged that the promises made by the DMK had “gone with the wind”. “They (DMK) may have forgotten, but the AIADMK cadre and the people of Tamil Nadu haven’t,” Mr. Panneerselvam said.
The DMK leaders and the police were aware of those who were behind the murder of the estate’s watchman and the suicide of others. However, almost 30 months had gone by and nothing had come out in the open, Mr. Dhinakaran said.
According to him, 90% of the AIADMK cadre were with Mr. Panneerselvam and the rest were in the AMMK. “The thondars (cadre) are here and the gundars (Goondas) are there,” he said, apparently referring to the AIADMK, led by former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami.
Showering praise on Mr. Panneerselvam, the AMMK leader said the two of them had come together only in the larger public interest, and for “genuine loyalists” of party founder M.G. Ramachandran. “We have nothing to hide from the cadre. We are here to bring back the lost sheen and glory of the AIADMK,” he said.
He said Mr. Panneerselvam was Chief Minister thrice and he was given the Herculean task to lead the State by none other than Jayalalithaa, who was the fulcrum of the party and all the true cadre. He had sacrificed more to the party, cadre and late leader “Amma” (Jayalalithaa) than anybody else in the AIADMK, Mr. Dhinakaran said.
In 2017, Mr. Panneerselvam rebelled against Jayalalithaa’s former aide, V.K. Sasikala, and her nephew, Mr. Dhinakaran, and broke ranks with the AIADMK. Subsequently, he joined hands with Mr. Palaniswami, and was party to the decision to expel Mr. Dhinakaran from the AIADMK. However, following his expulsion from the AIADMK, he warmed to Mr. Dhinakaran, and Tuesday marked their first major joint public address post the patch-up.
