New Delhi: After the Madras high court on Monday, July 11, ruled in favour of E. Palaniswami in a petition by his All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam rival O. Panneerselvam, the former was elected the sole chief of the party.
Panneerselvam was expelled from the party’s primary membership and lost the post of treasurer.
But OPS said Palaniswami had no right to show him the door and has, in turn, announced Palaniswami’s expulsion from the party.
Shortly after the verdict, Palaniswami held the crucial meeting of the 2,500-strong General Council, the party’s highest decision-making body, at 9.15 am today.
The meeting had the purpose of reviving the interim general secretary’s post and abolished the ‘coordinator’ and ‘joint coordinator’ posts, according to The Hindu.
Members in Palaniswami’s faction elected him as the single leader of the organisation, doing away with the dual leadership structure.
A special resolution moved by senior leader Natham R. Viswanathan to remove Panneerslvam and his supporters was adopted unanimously.
The resolution accused Panneerselvam of siding with the DMK regime and having ties with the ruling party leaders and working to weaken the AIADMK. “OPS acted against the party interests, its goals and principles. He took steps including approaching police to stall the June 23 General Council meet, which was jointly convened by him along with Palaniswami,” the AIADMK alleged.
R Vaithilingam and P.H. Manoj Pandian – both legislators and OPS supporters – and ex-MLA J.C.D. Prabakar were also expelled.
Responding, Panneerselvam said he was elected as co-ordinator by “1.5 crore” party workers and that neither Palaniswami nor another leader, K.P. Munusamy, had the right to expel him.
Condemning the two for expelling him “unilaterally” and against party rules, Panneerselvam said, “I expel them from primary membership,” of the AIADMK. He said he would approach the courts with the support of party workers and secure justice.
Times of India has reported that participants of the potential General Council meeting have been given identity cards with RFIDs (Radio Frequency Identification) to prevent non-members from participating and causing trouble.
Clashes broke out between supporters of two rival groups in Tamil Nadu just before Justice Krishnan Ramasamy delivered his verdict at 9 am today.
Television channels showed visuals of people hurling stones at each other and some men damaging vehicles parked near the AIADMK headquarters in Chennai.
Note: This article, first published at 8.59 am on July 11, 2022, was republished on the same day with the update on the court’s verdict, at 9.13 am. It is additionally being updated as new developments take place.