new delhi, Sept 18
Vehemently denying that there was no interference from BJP stalwart and Union Home Minister in the internal affairs of the AIADMK, party general secretary and Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) on Thursday asserted that he is the boss in the AIADMk and that his word is final in the party within the NDA in Tamil Nadu while it is Shah’s in the BJP. “Issues concerning the internal affairs of the AIADMK were not discussed with Amit Shah during our meeting. Shah had categorically stated earlier himself that he will not get involved in what happens in the AIADMK. As far as the NDA in Tamil Nadu is concerned, my word is the final one in the AIADMK while it is Shah’s in the BJP,” he told newspersons at Omalur, near Salem.
Late on Tuesday, EPS had met Shah in the national capital along with a delegation of party seniors and later had a one-on-one meeting as well, which lasted about 15 minutes. “Shah was happy at the large turnout in my ongoing state-wide ‘Save the people & Retrieve Tamil Nadu’ campaign,” he added. Incidentally, his meeting with Shah comes close on the heels of AIADMK dissident leader KA Sengottaiyan had called on the Union Home Minister and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to impress upon them the need to re-induct expelled leaders TTV Dhinakaran, O Panneerselvam (OPS) and VK Sasikala to strengthen the party to take on the ruling DMK in the 2026 assembly election.
On the criticism made by Chief Minister MK Stalin and Dhinakaran among others that he had hidden his face with a handkerchief while coming out of Shah’s residence, he said, “The meeting with the Home Minister was transparent. There was no need for me to hide my face. I was just wiping my face while traveling in the car.
“But, unfortunately some people are making politics out of this which is regrettable. Only people who are mentally deranged can twist and rake this up.”
“At a time when the state is rocked by the massive kidney racket involving hospitals run by prominent DMK leaders, is this (wiping my face with a handkerchief) a major issue?” the former Chief Minister asked and also had a dig at some media outlets for sensationalising it with the sole intention of tarnishing his reputation. With Dhina-karan, heading the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) and OPS, having walked out of the NDA after their hope that the BJP national leadership would facilitate their homecoming into the NDA turning futile, the saffron party’s plan for stitching together a strong coalition for the assembly election has left the NDA in rough seas. EPS too appears firm on keeping them off and has shut the doors. “Action is being taken against those violating party discipline by engaging with those who have been expelled. Dhinakaran was expelled from the AIADMK by none other than Jayalalithaa. A special resolution passed by the General Council mandates axing those indulging in anti-party activities,” he said.
in response to a question. Interestingly, Sengottaiyan had been stripped of his party posts a day after he issued an ultimatum to EPS to initiate talks for the return of the expelled leaders.
Justifying the AIADMK’s re-entry into the NDA, EPS accused Chief Minister Stalin of playing a double game by getting cosy with the BJP after coming to power.
“While in the opposition, the DMK protested Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit with black flags. But, now, they are waving the white flag. When Senthil Balaji was in the AIADMK, Stalin had charged him with corruption, but now he has become a saint for the DMK,” he said, also questioning the DMK’s alliance with the Congress as opportunistic.
