OPS extends olive branch, EPS rejects reconciliation offer

Chennai, August 18

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AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam on Thursday extended an olive branch to his rival, “dear brother” Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), to run the party jointly and said “let bygones be bygones”, but the latter ruled out any association with OPS and even blamed him for the party’s defeat in the 2021 Assembly polls, which the DMK-led bloc swept.

Incidentally, Pannerselvam’s call for unity also pertained to deposed AIADMK leader VK Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran.

Palaniswami rejected Panneerselvam’s call for joining hands and listed out a series of reasons, including alleging OPS was behind the attack on the party headquarters here last month. He flayed his rival for seeking “posts without efforts”.

Palaniswami also moved the Madras High Court against a single-judge order on Wednesday, which declared as not valid the AIADMK General Council resolutions of July 11, which among others, “expelled” Panneerselvam and picked EPS as the party’s interim general secretary.

A day after securing the High Court order in his favour, OPS said there had never been an issue with the earlier dual leadership but said the arrangement of “joint leadership” was brought in to steer the party in the absence of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

“After Amma’s death (in December 2016), dear brother Palaniswami became CM and we travelled along extending good cooperation. Many democratic duties were discharged by us,” he said.