Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy (EPS) on Tuesday, September 27 expelled senior AIADMK leader and former minister Panruti S Ramachandran from the primary membership of the party on the charges of anti-party activities. The move comes after O Panneerselvam appointed Ramachandran, who was the organising secretary of the party, as political advisor of the AIADMK.
AIADMK's interim general secretary Palanisamy, in a press release, said that Ramachandran brought disrepute to the party and was acting against the party's principles. “Due to all of these anti-party activities, he is sacked from the party including primary membership and none from the party should be in touch with him,” the notice said.
Ramachandran has been issuing statements against Palanisami. In an interview to the Times of India, Ramachandran had termed Palanisami’s leadership as a failure due to the successive defeats in Lok Sabha, assembly and local body elections and said that the AIADMK would face extinction if EPS continued as its chief. He alleged that Palanisami was lacking in experience and maturity and guided by his own whims and self-interest, would lead the party to ruin.
Ramachandran entered politics during his college days by meeting DMK founder CN Annadurai and went on to represent Panruti assembly constituency six times since 1967. He held various portfolios in the cabinets of late Chief Ministers M Karunanidhi and M G Ramachandran. He had short stints in Ramadoss’s PMK and Vijayakanth’s DMDK before he joined the AIADMK in 2014.
Ramachandran wanted the AIADMK factions to unite and return to power. Panneerselvan and V K Sasikala visited him separately recently amidst the EPS camp’s resolve to not include them in the party.