Won’t move SC if by-elections are announced, says Dhinakaran

He said this in Madurai on Saturday ahead of his participation in the 217th Gurupuja of freedom fighters -Maruthu Brothers scheduled at Kalayarkovil in Sivagangai district.

 

He said the MLAs could withdraw their to-be filed appeal petitions in the top court in the eventuality of the Election Commission notifying the elections. The only prayer of the MLAs was that their petitions should be disposed of expeditiously by the apex court.

He also said that the AMMK is ready to face the bypolls and several parties have expressed their interest in aligning with the AMMK, which is not caste centric, he told reporters.

The final verdict by the Madras High Court validated the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal’s order disqualifying these 18 MLAs. The AMMK moved Supreme Court challenging the verdict.

 

Meanwhile, Dhinakaran denied any chaos and confusion at party meeting convened in Madurai recently and said all 18 MLAs were together and working in unison to achieve victory in bypolls any time. Since Karunas, Thiruvadanai MLA and Founder of Mukkulathor Pulipadai, remains on conditional bail, he could not attend the party meeting. All the 18 MLAs would take their turn and meet VK Sasikala, general secretary in prison in Bengaluru he added.

Referring to a statement by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami that nothing could be done against the AIADMK and its ongoing rule, he said people would decide in this regard. Later, Dhinakaran along with scores of his supporters took part in the Maruthu Brothers’ Gurupuja at Kalayarkovil.  He was accorded a rousing reception by his cadres, sources said.

After labelling them as betrayers, the AIADMK on Saturday extended an olive branch to its 18 disqualified MLAs, asking them to jump on to the ruling party bandwagon and flayed AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran for ‘misleading’ them.

Asking the debarred MLAs and other Dhinakaran loyalists who moved away from AIADMK to revert to the parent party, the top leadership asked them to “understand the reality” of the Madras High Court judgment that upheld their disqualification.

Apparently, the AIADMK indicated that the court ruling vindicated its stand and reminded them that the party was akin to an “army” when it came to discipline.

The court’s fair judgment has enthused the party workers and the people of Tamil Nadu, the party said.

People were confident that the AIADMK government would continue to roll out welfare measures and “the angel of justice has paved a path for us to work together (again),” to meet the aspirations of the people, it said. 

“We invite you with love and affection to join again the massive people’s movement nurtured by Puratchi Thalaivar MGR and Puratchi Thalaivi Amma,” party coordinator and joint co-ordinator O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswami respectively said. 

In an open letter to cadres, the top duo, refraining from naming Dhinakaran or his loyalists, including the 18 debarred MLAs, said party functionaries had chosen to travel in an “alternative path as a result of being misled and due to some bitterness.”

However, a key Dhinakaran loyalist and one of the disqualified MLAs, P Vetrivel, ruled out considering going back to the ruling camp. 

Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday said there was no communique from government whip S Rajendran to Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal over the three AIADMK legislators who are backing AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran. On claims that government whip S Rajendran had written to the Speaker on the three MLAs (over their disqualification), Palaniswami said he was not aware of any such thing.  “Nothing of that sort so far,” he told reporters here. AIADMK MLAs A Prabhu, EA Rathinasabapathy, VT Kalaiselvan and S Karunas of Mukkulathor Pulipadi, who won the 2016 Assembly election by contesting on the ruling party’s Two Leaves symbol are backing Dhinakaran. Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, however, said the Speaker has a right to seek an explanation from the three AIADMK legislators.