Factual errors in Sasikala's reply to EC, says Panneerselvam faction

The AIADMK faction led by former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam said on Tuesday that it has sent its rebuttal of AIADMK General Secretary V.K. Sasikala's letter to the Election Commission.

AIADMK Rajya Sabha member V. Maitreyan told IANS: "A 61-page point-by-point rebuttal to Sasikala's letter has been submitted to Election Commission today (Tuesday). We have also pointed out the factual errors in Sasikala's letter to Election Commission."

Maitreyan and others belonging to the AIADMK faction led by Panneerselvam had approached the poll body to declare the election of Sasikala as AIADMK General Secretary as null and void.

Their contention is that the General Secretary of AIADMK has to be elected by the primary members of the party and not by its General Council.

The Election Commission had asked Sasikala to respond to the complaint lodged by Maitreyan, former AIADMK MP K.C. Palaniswamy and several others.

Sasikala replied to the poll body listing out her arguments in her letter dated March 8 but filed on March 10.

Both Palaniswamy and Maitreyan told IANS that Sasikala's response has some glaring factual errors.

In her reply to the Election Commission Sasikala had said that M.G.Ramachandran (MGR) was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and the General Secretary of the party from 1972 to 1987.

"Sasikala's letter to the Election Commission shows that she does not even know the basic history of AIADMK," Palaniswamy told IANS.

Speaking about the "howlers" in Sasikala's letter to Election Commission, Palanisamy said: "MGR became the Chief Minister only in 1977 and not in 1972.

"MGR was the party's General Secretary from 1972 to 1977. After that the post was held by leaders like V.R. Nedunchezhiyan, P.U. Shanmugam and S. Raghavanandam. On the other hand MGR was the party's Founder President," Palaniswamy added.

Palaniswamy said after MGR's death the party split into two, one headed by MGR's widow Janaki Ramachandran and the other by J. Jayalalithaa.

When the two factions merged in 1989, Jayalalithaa was elected as General Secretary by the General Council, but nobody objected to her election, Palaniswamy said.

According to him, the notice calling the General Council meeting of AIADMK on December 29 last year did not have on the agenda the election of General Secretary.

Palaniswamy said the only option now is to hold the elections for the General Secretary post as the interim arrangement cannot go on for ever.

--IANS

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