Beyond EPS Elevation, OPS Expulsion: Bharat Ratna Demand Among 16 Resolutions Adopted at AIADMK Meet

In a major victory for Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), the 2,500-plus-strong General Council elevated the former Tamil Nadu chief minister as the party’s interim General Secretary and adopted a resolution to expel his rival O Panneerselvam (OPS) for alleged anti-party activities.

Party spokesperson Kovai Sathyan explained that EPS has been made interim General Secretary since the General Secretary of the party has to be chosen by the primary members of the AIADMK.

“The election for the post shall take place four months from today,” Sathyan told News18.

In double whammy for OPS, the Madras High Court set aside the petition filed by him to stall the General Council meeting and allowed it to go ahead at Vanagaram near Chennai.

Apart from the special resolution to expel OPS, the General Council also expelled three of his supporters — former Rajya Sabha member R Vaithilingam, and former MLAs JCD Prabhakar and Manoj Pandian.

“Nobody has the authority to throw me out of the party,” hit back Panneerselvam. His supporters also broke into the Chennai party office and clashed with the EPS faction.

While EPS’s elevation and OPS’s expulsion were the biggest developments of the General Council meeting, here’s a look at the 16 important resolutions adopted at the meet:

• Congratulatory wishes to those elected as office-bearers of the AIADMK
• Demand for Bharat Ratna for EVR Periyar, CN Annadurai and J Jayalalithaa
• Discussion for removal of Coordinator and Joint Coordinator posts in the party
• To create a new post called Interim General Secretary of the AIADMK
• To elect the new Interim General Secretary as per the rules of the party
• To announce elections for the post of General Secretary and name the election officers
• To reiterate that there needs to be single leadership for the party’s progress
• Listing out the achievements of MG Ramachandran, Jayalalithaa and Palaniswami’s tenures as CM
• Condemnation of the DMK for shelving schemes introduced by Jayalalithaa
• Condemnation of the DMK government for not stemming price rise of essential commodities and for not maintaining Tamil Nadu as a power-surplus state
• Condemnation of the DMK government for “ruining” law and order in the state
• Demand to the Centre and TN government to ensure that Mekedatu reservoir project is not implemented; Demand to TN government to implement river-linking scheme
• Demand to the Centre and TN government to protect the Tamils in Sri Lanka
• Demand for DA increase for government staff, teachers and transport employees; a promise the DMK is yet to fulfil
• Demand to stem the rise of yarn prices in order to protect weavers
• Condemnation of “false cases” against AIADMK leaders by DMK government

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