AIADMK scraps all panchayat secretary posts

Besides the shocker, party leaders Edappadi K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam also revamped the AIADMK IT wing which handles the social media and twitter handles of Chief Minister Palaniswami.

A joint statement by the AIADMK convenor Panneerselvam and his deputy Palaniswami announced that all the panchayat secretary posts in the state will be scrapped immediately and those office-bearers will be given a new post, the statement said without giving any reason. In another statement, the party also decentralised the IT wing into four regions. It appointed Aspire Swaminathan for Chennai, Kovai Sathyan for Vellore, Singai Ramachandran for Coimbatore and Raj Satyan for Madurai as zonal in charges. The cadre should extend their support to the new office-bearers, the statement added.

Sources, in the party felt that the panchayat secretaries were inefficient and the move would have a direct impact on more than 12,000 panchayat heads. The DMK is hyperactive in coronavirus relief and the party wants to reward only performing leaders.

“The IT wing has been a white elephant. The move had not only weakened it and the appointment of 4 regional heads would lead to more infighting. How can AIADMK social media and twitter be restricted to regions,” wondered an AIADMK functionary.