BJP behind AIADMK unification bid, says Sengottaiyan; Nainar sees DMK hand behind 'revelation'
During his press meet, Sengottaiyan said the BJP helped the AIADMK retain power after J Jayalalithaa’s death and also “protected [the government] for four years”, before Palaniswami snapped ties.
COIMBATORE: The BJP had sought his intervention to reunite the divided factions in AIADMK, said expelled party veteran KA Sengottaiyan on Friday, comments that are likely to spark discomfort between the Dravidian party leadership and the Saffron party.
“The BJP invited and entrusted me with the task of reuniting the two factions in AIADMK. I too echoed the same opinion. I shared my view that AIADMK is left with no option but the BJP, and for them, no alternative than AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. I also told them that the BJP should help us in returning to power and, in turn, the AIADMK will fulfill the BJP’s goals in 2029,” he told the media in Gobichettipalayam.
Meanwhile, perhaps anticipating an angry reaction from AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, BJP State president Nainar Nagenthran said he suspected that the DMK was behind Sengottaiyan’s statement.
During his press meet, Sengottaiyan said the BJP helped the AIADMK retain power after J Jayalalithaa’s death and also “protected [the government] for four years”, before Palaniswami snapped ties.
He also raised the Kodanad heist-and-murder case, asking why Palaniswami, who seeks a CBI probe into every case, did not ask the same in this case. “From this, everyone should understand who DMK's B-team in Tamil Nadu is. My intention is only to expose those behind the Kodanad issue,” he said.
Unlike his new-found friend O Panneerselvam who was made the chief minister thrice by Jaya, Palaniswami came to the position through the backdoor, he alleged. However, he backstabbed VK Sasikala, who elevated him, turned against TTV Dhinakaran, and also Panneerselvam, who helped the party stay in power during the time of crisis, he said.
While recalling how Jayalalithaa ran the party by embracing everyone, Sengottaiyan attacked Palaniswami’s leadership as authoritarian for removing even those talking to him.
Palaniswami’s actions would weaken not only the party but even himself, Sengottaiyan said, while condemning the removal of 14 functionaries close to him, including former MP V Sathyabama, from the party.