Natarajan, Thambidurai trying to spoil ties with Centre: Ex Min

Former AIADMK Minister K P Munusamy today alleged that Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai and party chief V K Sasikala's husband M Natarajan were trying to create confusion in the "smooth ties" between the Tamil Nadu and the Central governments.
Days after hitting out at Sasikala's relatives, he urged the party chief to rein in both Thambidurai and Natarajan.
"Thambidurai and Natarajan are trying to create confusion and spoil the smooth relationship between Tamil Nadu government and the Centre," Munusamy told reporters here.
He said Chief Minister O Panneerselvam took "right steps" on the jallikattu issue.
When asked to elaborate on his charges against the two leaders, he later told PTI that "Natarajan had recently spoken against the Centre in Thanjavur while Thambidurai had hit out at the Central government on the jallikattu issue."

Natarajan had earlier this month accused BJP of trying to divide the AIADMK and get the state government dismissed.

Thambidurai had criticised the Centre for "failure" to promulgate an ordinance allowing jallikattu as sought by the ruling party amidst the protests by students in the state last week.
Referring to the recent remarks of Natarajan that his family had shouldered the AIADMK for 33 years, Munusamy said it was not "true" and asserted that the party belonged to the 1.5 crore cadres and not to anyone's family.
Earlier this month, Munusamy, who was dropped as a minister in 2014 by then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, had trained his guns at Sasikala's brother V K Divakaran over his reported remarks that his family had contributed to the strengthening of AIADMK since its founding by the late M G Ramachandran.

He had also questioned Divakaran's remarks that Natarajan played a key role in unifying different factions of AIADMK post Ramachandran's death.
However, Munusamy's comments, drew the ire of some state ministers after which Natarajan questioned why his family should not claim credit for "safeguarding" the party.