Senior All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader S Semmalai on Monday resigned from the party and submitted his resignation letter to AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), citing dissatisfaction over recent developments within the party and expressing anguish over its current state.
In his resignation letter to AIADMK General Secretary, Semmalai said the series of events in the party following the elections had caused him "immense mental anguish" and claimed that lakhs of party workers shared similar concerns.
"The series of events taking place in the AIADMK after the elections has caused me immense mental anguish. Lakhs of party workers, who have been striving for this movement from the day it was founded, are also in the same state of mind. Neither the incidents that have happened nor the ones currently happening are satisfactory. On the contrary, they are only causing concern," he wrote.
Semmalai also referred to the legacy of MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, questioning whether the current state of affairs was the fate of the movement founded and nurtured by them.
"Is this the fate of the movement created by the Golden-Hearted Revolutionary Leader M.G. Ramachandran and protected by the Revolutionary Leader Amma J. Jayalalithaa?" he wrote.
The senior leader further said reports of internal conflict had damaged the party's image and claimed that even prominent English newspapers had mocked the AIADMK over its internal issues by saying, "AIADMK is being disgraced due to internal party conflicts."
Reflecting on his political journey, Semmalai said both MGR and Jayalalithaa had given him opportunities and recognition in politics, adding that he continued to work for the party despite being denied opportunities after Jayalalithaa's demise.
"Both the Revolutionary Leader and the Revolutionary Leader Amma gave me numerous opportunities and also earned me a stable recognition in politics. Out of gratitude for that, I have continued to work selflessly so that my experience may be useful to this movement and bring pride to the legacy of those two great departed leaders. After the demise of Revolutionary Leader Amma, many opportunities were denied to me and many were blocked. Even then, I did not worry about it. Without expressing my disappointment, I remained disciplined under the party leadership and continued to work," he wrote.
Stating that the present circumstances no longer allowed him to continue in the movement, Semmalai said he was resigning from both the party and the position he held with a "heavy heart."
"I now reflect for a moment on my political journey with those two great departed leaders. When I look at the present circumstances that have emerged, my heart no longer allows me to continue my journey in this movement. My heart is deeply pained. With a heavy heart, and seeking forgiveness from the souls of those great leaders for the decision I have taken, I hereby inform the leadership with regret that I am stepping down from the position I hold and also resigning from the party," the letter read.
