A day after Edapaddi Palaniswami proved his majority and secured his position as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, the AIADMK MLA from the Coimbatore South constituency Amman K Arjunan has alleged that he has been receiving threatening and abusive phone calls for the last three days.
In the pitched battle between the OPS and Sasikala camps, one of the calls raised by those gathering popular support for former CM O Panneerselvam was for constituents to call their MLAs and tell them to support OPS.
The Coimbatore MLA has alleged that he was being abused and threatened for choosing to support CM Palaniswami. However, he said that he was sure these were not AIADMK supporters, and chose to blame the DMK for the calls.
Speaking to the reporters in Coimbatore, he said, “I have got more than 100 calls and the person who calls starts abusing me as soon as I pick up the call. I do not know who these people are, but I have a doubt that they are from DMK. I’m sure these are not people from my constituency,” he said.
He added that he intends to discuss the matter with his party colleagues, and will definitely file a police complaint with the Coimbatore police.
He said that people from the constituency are supportive of him. “I have been talking to the people in my constituency and you can see the work I have done for the people of my constituency. I’m ready to do whatever is required for the constituency. Today, I came back and immediately went to solve a water problem in my constituency,” he said.
He confidently asserted that the calls and WhatsApp messages he had been receiving are not from AIADMK cadres. “This is the work of DMK people. Whenever I ask who is calling, the phone calls get cut,” he said.
On Sunday morning, MLA Arjunan Amman Arjunan K returned to his constituency, after many days spent together with 122 other MLAs of the AIADMK at the Golden Bay Resort in Koovathur near Chennai. “All 122 of us have fulfilled the wish of Amma. I will continue to serve the people of my constituency faithfully,” he said.
Weeks of political uncertainty in Tamil Nadu following the sudden revolt of former CM OPS ended on Saturday with a Trust Vote during an Assembly session filled with high drama. Following pitched protests for a vote by secret ballot and a ruckus by DMK MLAs, almost the entire Opposition was expelled or walked out of the Session. Finally, the Palaniswami government secured its majority with 122 MLAs voting for and 11 MLAs voting against it.