Raveendranath, the party’s Lok Sabha member from Theni constituency, and Jeyapradeep, both sons of O Panneerselvam and a former minister, Vellamandi N Natarajan, were among those expelled
Chennai:
Tamil Nadu’s opposition AIADMK led by E Palaniswami has sacked the two sons of political rival O Panneerselvam and 16 other leaders. Mr Panneerselvam was sacked a few days ago amid the tussle for the control of the party.
Raveendranath, the party’s only Lok Sabha member from Theni constituency, and Jeyapradeep, both sons of O Panneerselvam and a former minister, Vellamandi N Natarajan, were among those expelled.
On Monday, Mr Palaniswami, or EPS, was on the way to becoming the party’s single supreme leader, after the Madras High Court gave a go-ahead for the crucial General Council meet of the party.
The high court’s verdict paved the way to end the dual-leadership model in the AIADMK after EPS was elevated as the interim general secretary of the party.
O Panneerselvam, or OPS, was expelled for “anti-party” activities.
The AIADMK General Council had cited difficulty in decision-making and discontentment among party cadre while scrapping the posts of Coordinator and Joint Coordinator, which had been held by OPS and EPS, respectively.
The General Council with over 2,500 members empowered EPS to steer the party as a single supreme leader.
EPS and some senior party leaders had also accused OPS of siding with the ruling DMK regime and working to weaken the AIADMK.
The court had rejected a plea filed by OPS seeking a stay on a second meeting called by the faction led by EPS.
The OPS camp called this illegal and said it would challenge legally.
Source:ndtv.com