CHENNAI: Former AIADMK MP V Sathyabama has been relieved of her organisational posts, including her roles as an executive committee member and as the Erode (rural west) district women’s wing secretary, but well ahead of the move, she submitted her resignation to Sengottaiyan, showing where her loyalty rests.
The former MP, along with her supporters, tendered her resignation in protest against EPS’s decision to remove Sengottaiyan from party posts.
According to insiders, over 1,000 functionaries have stepped down in a coordinated effort to mount pressure on the party high command and express dissatisfaction with the current leadership.
“This mass resignation is just the beginning. It will intensify and spread to other district units if the leadership fails to change its course and work towards the reunification of the party,” warned Thambi (alias) KA Subramanian, who was removed from his Nambiyur (west) union secretary party post alongside Sengottaiyan on Saturday.
Meanwhile, senior leader and former minister Thalavai N Sundaram took a swipe at his former cabinet colleague Sengottaiyan for revolting against Palaniswami, saying he has “no right to set an ultimatum for the party leadership.”
He added that Palaniswami has been working hard and leading the party forward despite numerous legal battles. In these trying times, senior leaders like Sengottaiyan should extend support to the leadership instead of posing challenges, he said. “What he did was unacceptable,” Sundaram said, wondering what would happen to the party if everyone started setting ultimatums for the party leader.
Without naming anyone, Thalavai Sundaram also took a dig at senior leaders for making discreet visits to the national capital and holding meetings with the national leadership of the BJP.