Chennai, May 18:
AMMK General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran has alleged that the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) had engaged in “horse-trading” to secure political support after the recent Assembly elections.
Addressing reporters in Tiruchirappalli, Dhinakaran said that if the AMMK MLA who joined TVK was given a ministerial post, his party would demand a CBI inquiry into the matter. Dhinakaran alleged that TVK’s political strategy amounted to outright “horse-trading.” “Vijay says he will act at horse speed, but he has bought the horse through bargaining,” Dhinakaran said sarcastically, referring to the Tamil Nadu chief minister and the leader of the TVK party.
Dhinakaran also took aim at Mannargudi MLA Kamaraj, alleging that the latter’s statements would backfire and claiming he knew who had recorded a video of Kamaraj signing documents inside a car.
The lone MLA of the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), S Kamaraj, was expelled from the party after he announced support to the ruling TVK Government led by Chief Minister Vijay in the State Assembly. He also maintained that only the leader of a political party has the authority to appoint the legislative whip.
Claiming that several complaints had already surfaced against newly appointed TVK ministers, Dhinakaran said that “governance cannot be run through reels” and said people would soon understand the ground reality. Appealing for unity among followers of former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, he said all AIADMK cadres should stand together to protect the party.
Further, he said that the people of Tamil Nadu had protected democracy by giving more seats to opposition parties in the recently concluded elections. He said it would be appropriate to assess the TVK government only after three months in office. Defending the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Dhinakaran asserted that no one could destroy the party and recalled that internal disturbances had existed since the days of M G Ramachandran.
Despite the present turmoil, he claimed AIADMK would emerge stronger and perform well in the next Parliamentary election. Further, he criticised the Congress party’s exit from the DMK alliance, he alleged that the move was motivated by a desire for ministerial positions.
He added that the Communist parties and VCK had not demanded ministerial berths and said their “self-respect would have been questioned” if they had done so. Dhinakaran alleged that TVK had “poached” an MLA elected on behalf of AMMK. Referring to the actor-politician and chief minister Vijay, he questioned how AIADMK MLAs could support someone who had previously criticised AIADMK as a corrupt party.
He reiterated that AMMK would continue to remain in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). According to Dhinakaran, several parties had supported TVK, fearing another election, which he termed “against political ethics and morality.” He claimed the stability of the TVK government was already under threat. Warning legislators against supporting TVK for positions, Dhinakaran said history would not forgive them if they backed the ruling party for personal gain.
He also alleged that K A Sengottaiyan who was a legislator with the AIADMK for nine times before joining the TVK was acting as an “agent” of TVK to weaken AIADMK. Sengottaiyan is the crurent Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu in Vijay’s cabinet of ministers. Meanwhile, commenting on the internal crisis within AIADMK, Dhinakaran stated that BJP leaders were unhappy over the ongoing factional disputes in the party.
Vijay-led TVK government won the floor test in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly with 144 votes in favour. The TVK government received support from Congress, CPI, CPI(M), VCK, IUML and expelled AMMK MLA Kamaraj during the trust vote.