CHENNAI: Revenue Minister Sengottaiyan has rejected the AIADMK’s allegation that he was encouraging horse-trading against the opposition party, saying he referred to 15 MLAs joining the ruling party but didn't specify they would be from the AIADMK.

Responding to a query about his remarks that 15 MLAs would join the TVK and the AIADMK's complaint to the Governor over the issue, Sengottaiyan clarified that he had not specifically said they would be from the AIADMK. “I merely said 15 MLA’s would join the TVK. I never mentioned that they would be from the AIADMK. Let anyone point to evidence that I said so. I cannot respond to fabricated allegations,” he said.

Refusing to respond to criticisms from AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, the minister said, “The internal problems of AIADMK should be addressed by two factions of the party and not by me." Further, Sengottaiyan said his expulsion from the AIADMK had turned out to be a blessing. “I wouldn’t have become a minister if I had continued in AIADMK,” he said.

Dismissing the poaching allegation, the minister argued that political leaders moving between parties is an established practice and cannot automatically be described as horse-trading.

He said such political shifts occurred during former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s tenure as well. People from other political organisations had joined the AIADMK, while others had left it for different parties and subsequently contested elections together, he said.

According to Sengottaiyan, these movements reflected a recurring feature of political life, and there was no basis for attaching the label of horse-trading to every change in party affiliation.