In a shocking revelation, ex Chief Minister and the current deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam, who had merged his faction with that of chief minister E Palaniswami (EPS) last year, has said that he had acted on a suggestion from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking at a party office-bearers meeting at Theni on February 16, the AIADMK coordinator said that the issue came up during a courtesy meeting he had with Modi in New Delhi last year.
“He (Modi) said that you (Panneerselvam) could join (merge the faction) to save the party,” OPS said, without specifying the exactly when the conversation took place. The merger of the two AIADMK factions took place in August 2017.
However, these remarks of OPS courted a controversy as this acknowledged the ongoing reports of politics played by the BJP in AIADMK split and merger. It can be noted that the AIADMK is the key ally of BJP and AIADMK is vital for the BJP.
O Panneerselvam, who had become chief minister of the state following the death of his predecessor J Jayalalithaa in December 2016, said he told Modi that he did not want any Cabinet position and can settle for a party post. But Modi wanted him to join the ministry headed by Palaniswami, OPS revealed.
OPS further said that he had conveyed the same to two of his cabinet colleagues from the Palaniswami camp prior to the merger, and that they also insisted he accept a minister’s post. “That is why I am a minister today. I have no desire to be a minister. Amma (Jayalalithaa) made me MLA four times and chief minister twice. That honour itself is enough for me,” he told the gathering.
Panneerselvam took over as chief minister twice – in 2001 and later in 2014 – when Jayalalithaa was convicted in two different cases. In 2014, Jayalalithaa and her confidante Sasikala were convicted in the Rs 66.66 crore disproportionate assets case.
Panneerselvam, who revolted against Sasikala and her family last year after allegedly being forced to make way for her elevation to the chief minister’s post, charged that her family members tried to work for his defeat in the 2016 polls. Sasikala, however, could not become the chief minister due to her conviction in the graft case.
“If anyone else had faced this amount of crisis and problems, they would have committed suicide or would have left the party. (But) I tolerated everything for Amma,” he said.
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