The AIADMK’s sidelined general secretary VK Sasikala on Monday filed a petition with the Election Commission claiming that the affidavits filed by Chief Minister Edapaddi Palaniswami and deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam were “forged and fabricated”, reported The Times of India.
Sasikala has asked for appropriate legal action to be taken against them for the fabrication of documents.
However, the faction led by EPS-OPS opposed the plea filed by Sasikala and said that all the affidavits submitted by them were genuine. They also stated that it was a ploy to buy more time and delay the Election Commission’s decision.
The faction led by OPS and EPS had submitted about 1, 877 affidavits from their general council members, ministers, MPs and MLAs on September 29. Sasikala cited 325 affidavits and claimed that they were forged and fabricated, and not signed or executed by the same person, the ToI report adds.
Listing the names of three people, she claimed that they were forced and influenced to submit their signatures. She also added that 78 stamp papers were purchased in March and April, and questioned their validity. Moreover, scrutiny showed that stamp papers of 44 affidavits did not have the name of the deponents, ToI reported.
According to reports, when a stamp paper is purchased in Tamil Nadu, the name of the executant is mentioned on the stamp paper.
Meanwhile, the OPS-EPS faction claimed that there was no need to call members for cross-examination of the affidavits as the documents were genuine.
AIADMK leader KP Munusamy on Sunday had also alleged that the affidavits filed by the Sasikala faction were fake and that they were trying to delay the process by submitting these affidavits. The ‘two-leaves’ case will be coming up for hearing on October 30.
In March this year, the Election Commission had frozen the AIADMK’s two leaves symbol after factions led by VK Sasikala and O Panneerselvam has staked claim to it.