Shanmuganathan says his outburst was only to keep AIADMK intact

Ex-Minister had accused Kadambur Raju, others of taking bribe

September 22, 2018 01:02 am | Updated 07:59 am IST - CHENNAI

S.P. Shanmuganathan

S.P. Shanmuganathan

An outburst of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) legislator from Srivaikuntam and former Minister S.P. Shanmuganathan against his party colleagues has given rise to speculation whether a revolt is brewing in the party.

On Thursday, Mr. Shanmuganathan levelled allegations against Information Minister Kadambur Raju, Thoothukudi district secretary of the party S.T. Chellapandian and organising secretary N. Chinnadurai that they had taken bribes for selecting candidates for the ongoing polls to cooperative bodies. He also vented his ire on another former Minister, N. Thalavai Sundaram.

Eye on polls

Last week, a couple of legislators and Members of Parliament of the ruling party chose to boycott an official event in Cuddalore district to mark the inauguration of the work on a memorial for former Minister S.S. Ramasami Padayatchi.

Speaking to The Hindu on Friday evening, Mr. Shanmuganathan, however, asserted that no reason should be attached [to his outburst] other than that he felt the need to highlight the state of affairs of the party in parts of the southern districts of the State. “The Lok Sabha elections are approaching and we should keep the party in good health. That’s the only reason why I spoke out,” said the former Minister, who was part of the camp led by O. Panneerselvam, prior to its merger with the group headed by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami in September last year.

His “concern” was that the party should not be reduced in Thoothukudi to the condition it was facing in Kanniyakumari district, where it had no representation in the Assembly.

Asked whether he made the allegations because he had been overlooked after the merger and since there were reports of the Panneerselvam camp not being rewarded, Mr. Shanmuganathan replied in the negative, and asked, “Is he [Mr. Panneerselvam] not working as Deputy Chief Minister under EPS [Mr. Palaniswami]? Both are doing well as far as governance is concerned. But they, especially Mr. Palaniswami, need to pay more attention to party matters.”

Two senior leaders from the south, who were part of the Palaniswami camp during the split, explained that in a “big party”, such “rumblings” were normal. These, by themselves, did not pose any threat to the party, and the dissatisfied leaders can be brought around. They also pointed out that when Jayalalithaa was alive, if a party functionary made a statement against any Minister, he or she would have been sacked. But now, no action was being taken. This was the major difference, they said. Pointing out that Mr. Shanmuganathan apparently timed his outburst to coincide with the CM’s visit to the southern districts, the leaders — one of whom is a Minister — said this may have been done to get attention.

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