Interview/ O. Panneerselvam, ousted AIADMK leader and former chief minister, Tamil Nadu
Q/ Should the AIADMK bring back leaders who left or were expelled to strengthen the party?
A/ Our leaders like Puratchi Thalaivar (M.G. Ramachandran) and Puratchi Thalaivi Amma (J. Jayalalithaa) had 10 per cent vote bank for themselves beyond the party’s strength. They had charisma and were cult personalities who could attract people on their own. But that situation does not exist now. The people and cadre haven’t accepted Edappadi Palaniswami as their leader. So the party should come together. If we come together, we will have our strength and only then can we form a formidable alliance and win an election.
Q/ What do you think is the future of the AIADMK under Palaniswami?
A/ Under Palaniswami, the future of the AIADMK is a big question mark. If this situation continues, losses will also continue. The vote share has come down from 45 per cent to 20 per cent. And this, too, was because he had the two leaves symbol. If there is a four- or five-cornered fight in the upcoming election, the AIADMK’s vote bank will go down further. The AIADMK under Palaniswami is operating as the EDMK (Edappadi DMK).
Q/ Palaniswami calls you a traitor and accuses you of aligning with the BJP.
A/ Till now, I have not betrayed anyone. I have not been interested in power or position. I was given a higher position, which I never expected, by Amma. In 1998 and in 2002, the AIADMK aligned with the BJP. And then the DMK was part of the BJP government under A.B. Vajpayee. In politics, there is no permanent friend or enemy.
Palaniswami is a selfish man. He got the chief minister post by falling at the feet of Chinnamma (Sasikala). After getting the post, he ridiculed her saying, “The dog barks seeing the sun.” And, he ridiculed Dhinakaran who recommended him for the post. He sent former ministers S.P. Velumani and P. Thangamani as messengers to me to retain power. After that, he planned a murderous attack on me. The BJP helped in a big way to make Palaniswami continue in power. Without thanking them, he walked out of the BJP alliance.
There is a view that the DMK is behind all these decisions of Palaniswami. The DMK has given him two commands―the AIADMK should not reunite and it should not align with the BJP. Only then the DMK can continue to be in power. In return, the DMK has given him certain assurances, that it will not take action against him in the corruption case and the Kodanad heist case. The DMK had said that the heist case would be solved in 90 days, but it has been more than 900 days now and there is no breakthrough. From this, it is understood that the AIADMK is acting as slave to the DMK.