CHENNAI: After AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami met senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Thursday night to hold seat-sharing talks, AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran and PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Friday (March 20) morning left for the national capital to meet Shah for similar discussions.
Dhinakaran, who departed from Chennai on an Air India flight, told reporters at the airport that his visit was not specifically to discuss alliance matters, even as political developments pointed to ongoing negotiations within the National Democratic Alliance. He said the AMMK was part of the NDA and that Shah was leading the coalition. Referring to Palaniswami’s meeting in Delhi, he added that he had received an invitation from the Union Home Minister four days ago.
While returning to Chennai, Palaniswami told reporters at the New Delhi airport that seat-sharing negotiations with the BJP would be completed within the next four days and that the party’s election manifesto would be released within a week.
Dismissing media speculation, Dhinakaran, however, said assumptions about alliance talks were misplaced and that he could not respond to questions framed on that basis.
Taking a swipe at Chief Minister M K Stalin, he said his visit was not aimed at securing funds for Tamil Nadu. He questioned whether funds could be obtained from the Union government after the announcement of elections and alleged that even allocated funds were being misused.
He said he was travelling to meet NDA leaders, including those from the BJP, as part of efforts to bring about political change in Tamil Nadu under an AIADMK-led alliance. He maintained that the upcoming election would be a contest between the AIADMK-led NDA and the DMK alliance, rejecting the Chief Minister’s claim that it would be a contest between Delhi and Tamil Nadu.
Dhinakaran also alleged that during the 2004–2014 period, when the DMK was part of the Union government, it held key portfolios and brought disrepute to Tamil Nadu. He further claimed that the NEET examination was introduced during a period when the DMK was part of the ruling dispensation at the Centre and in the State under M Karunanidhi.
He accused the DMK of remaining silent during the killing of Sri Lankan Tamils and said Stalin was making statements out of fear, adding that he would meet the Union Home Minister and other BJP leaders during his visit.
Anbumani Ramadoss had earlier departed from Chennai on an Air India flight to Delhi.