SC upholds Madras HC order allowing EPS as AIADMK interim general secretary

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the order of the Madras High Court, which allowed Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) to continue as the interim general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in major setback to opposing O Panneerselvam (OPS).

It dismissed the petitions filed by OPS challenging the Madras High Court’s decision to restore former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister EPS as the party’s single leader.

Addressing the public, EPS said that the court’s judgement today put an end to the “suffering” AIADMK cadres had experienced for the past 6-7 months.

“God’s blessing is with us so that we got that judgement in our favor. AIADMK is not a family party, it is a common people’s party,” EPS said.

EPS added that he was in doubt about the direction the Supreme Court’s decision would take. He said that their final verdict siding with him confirmed late AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa’s statement about the party’s 1,000-year rule over the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.

“The veils under which DMK’s B team was functioning were torn by the Supreme Court’s verdict,” EPS said.

Calling the Supreme Court’s verdict a setback, expelled AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam said that ‘Amma’ is the permanent general secretary of their party and they have passed a resolution on the same. He said nobody has the power to act on the same. He said the EPS wants to capture his party and yesterday’s verdict was a setback for them. They would soon be meeting VK Sasikala and TTV Dhinakaran, he added.

A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Hrishikesh Roy had reserved judgment on the matter on January 12.

The judgment came on a batch of pleas concerning amendments made to the party bylaws during the July 11, 2022 general council meeting.

Celebrations broke out in Chennai at MGR Maaligai, the AIADMK headquarters, over the court’s ruling. The HQ witnessed increased police presence as EPS supporters burst firecrackers and poured milk on cardboard cutouts of the newly reinstated AIADMK interim general secretary. They also offered sweets and flowers to photographs of EPS.

Reacting to the news, former minister and senior AIADMK leader D Jayakumar said it was a historic verdict and implied that OPS’s political future was over, gesturing a “zero.”

In August 2022, the Madras High Court had stayed the AIADMK General Council’s decision to elect EPS as interim General Secretary. Upon his election in July 2022, EPS’ first decision was to expel OPS much to the latter’s chagrin.

ALSO READ | EPS the new interim general secretary of AIADMK; OPS expelled

The feud between OPS and EPS has intensified with the upcoming Erode East assembly constituency election, scheduled for February 27. The constituency has been vacant since the death of Congress MLA Thirumaran Everaa, who was the son of EVKS Elangovan.

OPS also suffered another major setback when Erode district secretary T Muruganandam and other party functionaries on Tuesday joined hands with EPS and resigned from his claiming disappointment over OPS’ leadership.

With the Supreme Court’s decision, EPS will now be able to continue as the AIADMK’s interim general secretary, and the party can move forward with its plans for the upcoming elections.

EPS had previously announced that the election for the position of general secretary of the AIADMK would be postponed until the court resolved the ongoing leadership dispute between himself and OPS.

The AIADMK, which is a major political force in the state of Tamil Nadu, has been facing internal turmoil and leadership battles since the death of its leader, J Jayalalithaa, in 2016.

The verdict is likely to have a significant impact on the state’s politics, as the AIADMK is one of the two major parties in Tamil Nadu, along with the DMK.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow