Tamil Nadu CM O Panneerselvam sacked from AIADMK

Chennai: AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala on Tuesday expelled 20 rebel leaders from the primary membership of the party including the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, hours after the Supreme Court upheld her conviction in disproportionate assets case.

Out of the sacked leaders two were the members of the legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu, namely Pannerselvam and school education minister K Pandiarajan.Twelve MPs and eight MLAs, who supported chief minister O Panneerselvam, were, however, spared.

The two-page statement released by Sasikala stated that the party leaders should not have any business with the expelled leaders in future. "The expelled members have violated party principles and brought disrepute," she said.

The sacked leaders' list included some significant names, such as former Speaker P H Pandian, former ministers C Ponnaiyan, Natham R Viswanathan, K P Munusamy, P Mohan, K A Jayapaul, K P Rajendra Prasad and Parithi Ilamvazhuthi.

Former Union minister E Ponnusamy, legal wing former secretary P H Manoj Pandian, minorities wing former secretary J C D Prabhakar, former MLAs K Thavasi, S K Selvam, K Ayyappan and S Muthuselvi, MGR youth wing joint secretary K A K Mukil, North Chennai (South District) presidium chairman V Neelakandan and Madurai rural district former secretary M Muthuramalingam also faced the axe.

It could be mentioned that the party camp that had supported Panneerselvam had already requested the Election Commission of India not to consider the claims of Sasikala that she was appointed as the general secretary of the party, citing the bylaws of the AIADMK.