Velumani says his group’s intention is not to cause a split in the AIADMK

The AIADMK’s rebel leader S.P. Velumani on Friday asserted that his group’s intention was not to cause a split in the organisation. 

“We do not intend to lay siege to the party headquarters either. We have been saying from the beginning that Edappadiyar [Edappadi K. Palaniswami] is the general secretary. We are going to give a representation only to him, seeking an early convening of the general council to review the performance of the party and resolve differences of opinion,” Mr. Velumani told reporters in Chennai. 

Denying the suggestion that the group’s decision to support the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) regime was in exchange for securing the ministerial position, Mr. Velumani said a wish list had been drawn up, according to which his faction wanted the government to continue with schemes implemented during the AIADMK government such as Amma Unavagam, Amma Clinics and ‘Thaaliku Thangam’ scheme.

The spokesperson of the Palaniswami camp and former Minister, “Agri” S.S. Krishnamurthy, when asked by The Hindu whether the general secretary had given nod for taking back all the dissidents but four (C.Ve. Shanmugam, Mr. Velumani, C. Vijayabhaskar and R. Kamaraj), denied that no such stipulation was made. “His [Mr. Palaniswami’s] call is an unconditional one,” Mr. Krishnamurthy pointed out.