Tamil Nadu: AIADMK's factions are now fighting over how to celebrate Jayalalithaa's birthday
While one set wants to hand out special souvenirs and hold public meetings, the other wants to hoist the party flag and give out free food.
The two rival factions of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam are at loggerheads again, this time about how late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s birthday should be celebrated. While the VK Sasikala faction on Tuesday said Presidium Chairman KA Sengottaiyan will lead the 69th birth anniversary celebrations on February 24, the rebels led by O Panneerselvam said they had other things in mind.
The AIADMK said the celebrations have been planned with the “due permission” from party general secretary VK Sasikala, who is currently lodged in a Bengaluru jail. As part of the plan, Sengottaiyan will release a souvenir to mark the occasion, organise feasts and distribute aid to the poor. AIADMK Deputy General Secretary TTV Dinakaran, Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami and Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai will address a series of public meetings across Tamil Nadu from February 24 to 28, reported The Times of India.
“Amma, who was instrumental for such growth of the party, is not among us today. But her guidance will be steering us,” read a statement from the party.
The OPS faction said it has come up with his own celebrations. Theni MP R Parthiban held a meeting with Panneerselvam’s supporters to chalk out the plans, according to The Hindu. Expelled AIADMK leader E Madhusudhanan said MLAs, MPs and senior leaders would hoist the party’s flag and distribute free food among the poor.
Tamil Nadu has been in crisis ever since Jayalalithaa passed away on December 5. The crisis snowballed into a major impasse after Panneerselvam resigned and Sasikala was named the next chief minister. Panneerselvam then revolted against Sasikala, saying he had been forced out.
On February 14, the Supreme Court convicted Sasikala and two others in a disproportionate assets case. On February 20, Edappadi K Palaniswami assumed the chief minister’s office after he won the trust vote 122-11 against O Panneerselvam in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. The floor test was chaotic with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam creating a ruckus and the Congress walking out.