Semmalai quits AIADMK, urges leadership to shed ego and protect party

CHENNAI: In a further setback to the AIADMK amid growing rebellion against general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami, senior leader and former Minister S Semmalai on Monday quit the party and urged EPS to set aside ego for the sake of the party’s future.

Addressing the media in Salem, the veteran leader said the AIADMK was steadily weakening due to the growing divide and ego clashes among its senior leadership.

“The AIADMK can regain its strength only if the leaders sit together and resolve their differences. But ego among the leadership is stalling the party’s growth,” Semmalai said, adding that the internal turmoil within the party following the Assembly elections had caused him deep mental anguish.

He also expressed concern that the party was gradually distancing itself from the people and said the cadres were left directionless. “AIADMK cadre are suffering like children without a mother. The leadership must correct its mistakes and protect this movement,” he said.

Recalling the leadership of former Chief Ministers MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, Semmalai said both leaders had nurtured the party with unity and discipline. “If the present leadership had remembered Jayalalithaa’s vision that this movement should continue for a hundred years even after her, the party would not have reached this situation,” he remarked.

In a strongly worded resignation letter addressed to EPS, Semmalai lamented the state of affairs within the AIADMK and said party cadres were deeply distressed by the ongoing internal conflicts. “Camphor may dissolve, but should a party dissolve? The situation has deteriorated to the point where people mock the AIADMK over its internal feuds,” he wrote.

Semmalai began his political career in the DMK student wing before joining the AIADMK when MGR founded the party in 1972. Over the decades, he served as a four-time MLA, Member of Parliament, Health Minister and pro-tem speaker of the Tamil Nadu assembly.

Recollecting his long political journey, he said MGR and Jayalalithaa had entrusted him with several important responsibilities in the party and government. “After their demise, I was denied opportunities to contest the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. I still do not know the reason why I was denied those opportunities,” he said.