In a big win for O Panneerselvam (OPS), the Madras High Court on Wednesday, August 17, ordered the AIADMK to hold a fresh General Council meeting, and has stayed resolutions taken in the previous meeting where dual leadership structure was struck down by the party. In the June 23 General Council meeting, the AIADMK had expelled O Panneerselvam from the party and had appointed Edappadi Palaniswami as the interim general secretary of the AIADMK. The HC has now put these decisions on hold and ordered status quo till a fresh general council meeting is held.
The judge said that the General Committee meeting of the AIADMK has to be convened by both Coordinator and the Joint Coordinator. The appointment of Edappadi K Palaniswami as the interim general secretary is not valid. A detailed order is awaited.
Minutes after the verdict was pronounced, celebrations broke out outside OPS’s residence in Chennai, with his supporters welcoming the verdict. However, AIADMK leaders from the EPS faction have said that the decisions over the leadership within the AIADMK is an internal issue of the party and the High Court order is an interim one.
Speaking to the press, D Jayakumar said that there is no deviation from the AIADMK bye-laws. He added, “The HC has given a verdict, it is not a final judgment. We will discuss the next course of action after consulting with the legal experts. The General Council is the highest decision making body of the party.”
Welcoming the verdict, Thirumaran, OPS’s counsel, addressed the media and said, “This is a big victory for OPS. The court has accepted our argument and delivered a judgment. The court has rejected the arguments and decisions taken in the General Council meeting. We are waiting for the detailed order. The order clearly says the post of coordinator still exists.”
The dispute within the AIADMK started on June 15, when senior party leader and former Minister D Jayakumar put forth the demand of unitary leadership. This would mean that the dual-leadership structure of AIADMK, where OPS and EPS were leading it as Coordinator and Joint Coordinator, respectively that existed till then had to be abolished.
While it was anticipated that the decision will be taken on the general council meeting on June 23, OPS went to the Madras High Court seeking to stay the meeting. However, the court refused to do so, and OPS approached the apex court. The court while passing this order said that while the meeting can take place as per the schedule, they “should not be permitted to pass any resolutions to change the bye-law of the party”.
Meanwhile, as many as 2,342 members raised the demand to discuss single leadership during the first General Council meeting, held on June 23. This meeting also witnessed a scuffle between EPS and OPS factions, with the latter being abused and attacked by supporters of Edappadi K Palaniswami. The general council meeting was then postponed to July 11.
After this, opposing this restraining order by the HC that no amendment should be made to laws, EPS went to the Supreme Court on June 28. The SC, after hearing the petition, stayed the Madras HC order, following which the meeting was held on July 11. In this meeting, EPS was made the interim head of the AIADMK and a special resolution was passed to expel OPS and his supporters from the party. In return, OPS announced that he sacked EPS from the party. Since then, both the factions have been claiming ownership to the party and expelling each others’ supporters from the party.
(With IANS inputs)