Nine senior AIADMK leaders, including former minister S.P. Velumani, have issued an open letter to party general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, saying the party is being weakened by what they call “wrong decisions”. They said the AIADMK, which they likened to a banyan tree, is “melting” due to the current course of action.
The letter comes after Palaniswami allotted new responsibilities to Velumani, Thangamani and others as part of efforts to stitch up internal divisions. The signatories—Vishwanathan, Velumani, Thangamani, Anbazhagan, Veeramani, Arunmozhi Devan, Balakrishna Reddy, Krishnamurali and Sukumar—said the latest appointments do not reflect the party’s growth needs.
In the letter, they referred to events after Jayalalithaa’s death and said they had faced legal battles to help position Palaniswami as Chief Minister and later as general secretary. They also objected to C.V. Shanmugam, whom they said stood by the party through cases, being kept aside without any post.
They further claimed that, through intermediaries, they were asked to bring back MLAs who had drifted away before and after elections, and that they acted on an understanding that earlier positions would be restored by June 4. They said the commitment was not honoured, and argued that this has contributed to people leaving the AIADMK and joining the TVK.
Calling the newly announced responsibilities a wrong decision, the nine leaders said they would not accept the posts and would continue only as party members. Separately, former minister M.S.M. Anandan, who has announced his exit from the AIADMK, accused the leadership of acting out of self-interest and harming the party.
