The proposal to create the post of interim general secretary and the absence of commendation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are the highlights of the agenda of the meeting of the AIADMK’s general council scheduled for July 11.
A perusal of the agendas of the upcoming meeting and the June 23 meeting reveals that while the first item — creation of the post of interim general secretary — is an addition, the second — laudatory reference to the Prime Minister — is an omission. One of the 23 resolutions rejected at the last month’s general council meeting pertained to the commendation of Mr. Modi for the manner in which the COVID-19 vaccination programme was implemented nationwide.
A former Minister, who was part of the team that drafted resolutions for the July 11 meeting, says the proposed motion on the post of the interim general secretary will have to be read along with four other draft resolutions that deal with the revocation of the posts of coordinator and co-coordinator and the election of treasurer by the primary members; the election of the interim general secretary; the announcement of the election for the post of general secretary; and the state of affairs in the party.
He claims that 2,432 members of the general council have mooted the five proposed resolutions and 2,190 members have requisitioned the general council meeting.
A few days ago, Natham R. Viswanathan, one of the organisation secretaries, said Edappadi K. Palaniswami would be made the general secretary at the next general council meeting.
As for the absence of reference to Mr. Modi, the former Minister says it has been felt that there is “no need” for the AIADMK to commend the Prime Minister as the meeting is an “internal matter”. Moreover, it was at the insistence of coordinator O. Panneerselvam that the motion on Mr. Modi was proposed for the last meeting.
However, another former Minister says any matter other than what has been mentioned in the agenda for the next week’s meeting can be brought in at the last minute.
Another aspect of the agenda for the July 11 meeting is that the first of the 16 draft resolutions refers to the expression of greetings to the newly elected office-bearers, whereas in the agenda for the June 23 meeting, it spoke of the ratification of their election, apart from congratulating them.
Answering questions from reporters on Tuesday whether Mr. Panneerselvam would be expelled from the party, D. Jayakumar, another organisation secretary and former Minister, replied that it was up to the leadership to act against those indulging in “anti-party activities”.
