The AIADMK on Friday, January 28, relieved its Rajya Sabha member A Navaneethakrishnan from the post of secretary of the party's advocates wing. Party’s coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami and joint coordinator O Paneerselvam said that that he was relieved of the the post immediately, effective from January 28, in a party release.
The duo, however, did not state any reason for the party's decision. According to TOI, the move was made a day after the MP attended the wedding ceremony of DMK Rajya Sabha MP TKS Elangovan’s daughter at Anna Arivalayam. In his speech at the wedding event presided by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Navaneethakrishnan had praised Elangovan and MP Kanimozhi for helping him make his ‘speeches better’, according to reports.
He had reportedly also spoken about how the two DMK MPs had helped him raise issues in the Parliament.
Navaneethakrishnan was appointed as the Advocate General for Tamil Nadu in the year 2011. Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister late J Jayalalithaa had offered the party post to him in the year 2014. Navaneethakrishnan enrolled as an advocate in 1981 and was known for his stint as the Special Public Prosecutor for narcotic cases and cases under the Essential Commodities Act in Thanjavur between 1991 and 1996. He also served as the Additional Public Prosecutor in the Madras High Court from 2001 to 2004.
Further, he was the one who had defended Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case against her in a Bengaluru court, and represented her in several cases, including the one filed by the Chennai CBI for allegedly receiving cash gifts from her party workers on her birthday, and by the Income Tax Department for non-filing of wealth tax returns.
D Jayakumar of AIADMK had told reporters that Navaneethakrishnan had "brought disgrace" to the party by visiting the DMK headquarters, when the AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran had termed the DMK "an evil force".
கழக ஒருங்கிணைப்பாளர் திரு. ஓ. பன்னீர்செல்வம், கழக இணை ஒருங்கிணைப்பாளர் திரு. எடப்பாடி கே. பழனிசாமி ஆகியோரின் முக்கிய அறிவிப்பு. pic.twitter.com/GoaHfpRkPA
— AIADMK (@AIADMKOfficial) January 28, 2022