Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK on Friday sacked spokesperson KC Palanisamy after he urged the party to back a no-confidence motion against the Modi government if it did not take a favourable stand on the Cauvery issue.
A statement issued in Chennai by the party's Coordinator and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam and Joint Coordinator and Chief Minister K. Palaniswami asked party members not to have any contact with Palanisamy.
According to the statement, the former MP acted in a manner bringing disrepute to the party.
Palanisamy, who was the first to oppose the election of the now jailed AIADMK leader VK Sasikala as party General Secretary, had taken a stand slightly different from that of the party leadership over the no-trust vote introduced in the Lok Sabha by the TDP.
While the AIADMK statement was silent on the reasons for the dismissal, Palanisamy had told IANS earlier: "If the Centre refuses to set up the CMB and the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee (CWRC) as the Supreme Court ordered, the AIADMK may support the no-trust motion."
Reacting to his dismissal, Palanisamy said: "I am not taking back what I had said. I fail to understand as to what is wrong in my statement. By my dismissal, the two leaders have proved that they are slaves to the BJP. The AIADMK is not under the control of any one or two individuals."
The AIADMK initially seemed torn between supporting the Prime Minister and gauging the angst of the people in the state, to set up the Cauvery Management Board as mandated by the Supreme Court in its verdict.
Following KC Palanisamy’s sacking, senior leaders indicated that they would most likely align with the BJP if the motion is moved on the floor of the House.
Speaking to reporters, Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambi Durai also hinted that the AIADMK was unlikely to support the no-confidence motion against the Central government.
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IANS inputs