CHENNAI: Refusing to concede to the AIADMK general council's decision to expel him from the party and his post of party coordinator, a defiant O Panneerselvam released a list of 14 newly-appointed district secretaries on Sunday. The AIADMK has 75 party districts in all. On Saturday, OPS had reinstated all those expelled from the party prior to the July 11 general council meeting.
With the current structure including a majority of district secretaries backing AIADMK interim general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, OPS issued a statement appointing the new district secretaries, many of them his loyalists. Almost all those appointed to the new posts, barring Kovai K Selvaraj (the new propaganda secretary) had remained silent or non-committed during the leadership crisis. R Gopalakrishnan, a supporter of OPS, appointed as the Madurai urban district secretary, (a post held by former minister Sellur K Raju) said he was confident of discharging his duties for the benefit of the party. "My appointment once again strengthens the party's dictum that posts are for cadres, not leaders, and that even an ordinary person can come up the ranks," he said.
K R Asokan, appointed as the Sivaganga district secretary, said OPS was the coordinator of the party, a post approved by the Election Commission, and he would remain so until the EC stated otherwise. "Our appointment is the first file that he signed once he came out of hospital after undergoing treatment for Covid-19 infection," said Ashokan.
On Saturday, OPS issued a statement in which he reinstated functionaries, who had been removed from the party in the last six years prior to July 11, when a special general council meeting was held and he, along with his close associates, were expelled from the party. This covered around 13,000 party workers in the state, including village panchayats.
Meanwhile, former minister and EPS loyalist D Jayakumar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was likely to meet the interim general secretary when he came down to Chennai on July 28 for the 44th Chess Olympiad event. Asked if the AIADMK turmoil is likely to figure in discussions during the PM-EPS meeting, Jayakumar said Palaniswami wanted to inform Modi about "the drawbacks of the Tamil Nadu government". On the other hand, OPS supporter G Pugazhendi said "the doors of Delhi have been closed permanently for EPS".
