Johnson Cherian.
In an apparent sign of restlessness among certain sections of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Amma), a group of eight legislators on Monday called on Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and demanded that a meeting of the AIADMK Legislature Party be convened at the earliest to discuss a host of issues.
Among the legislators who met the Chief Minister were former ministers Thoppu N.D. Venkatachalam, V. Senthil Balaji and P. Palaniappan.
Their meeting lasted nearly an hour. Mr. Palaniswami gave a patient hearing and conveyed to them that he would consult with other senior leaders before acting on their demands, according to one of the participants in the meeting. Hinting that they are the latest “ginger group” in the party, some members of the group insisted that they are not angling for slots in the Cabinet.
According to them, the issues raised by them were the early merger of the AIADMK (Amma) and AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma); retrieval of the “Two Leaves” symbol; and construction of a “fitting” memorial for former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
The group had also wanted the Chief Minister, who is also the headquarters secretary of the party, to ensure that plans were drawn up by the party as early as possible to hold the centenary celebration of party founder and former Chief Minister M.G.Ramachandran in a grand manner.
In addition to these, there are a number of issues concerning constituencies belonging to the ruling camp and there has to be a detailed discussion on how to address them, say the members.
‘Normal meeting’
M. Thambi Durai, propaganda secretary of the party and Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha, who subsequently met the Chief Minister, said he was unaware of the meeting between the legislators and Mr. Palaniswami. He said he met the Chief Minister to discuss arrangements for the centenary celebration of MGR. “This was an official meeting as the State government has drawn up some plans.”
As for the party’s plans for the celebration, there will be a meeting of senior functionaries at the party headquarters on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the matter, Mr. Thambi Durai added.
Electricity Minister P. Thangamani said, “It is only normal for AIADMK MLAs to meet our Chief Minister at the Secretariat. They might have given petitions for something and there is nothing wrong with that. It is quite possible that the petitions are about problems and issues concerning their constituencies.”
One of the MLAs from a northern district who was part of the group said “it was only coincidence” that former ministers were also there when he met the CM.
