Edappadi K Palaniswami
On the representation submitted to Governor R V Arlekar, Krishnamurthy said they had flagged a recent statement by senior minister K A Sengottaiyan that 15 AIADMK MLAs were ready to join TVK. Krishnamurthy criticised the ruling party over tenders to purchase power at Rs 35 per unit.
CHENNAI: AIADMK party whip Agri SS Krishnamurthy on Thursday said party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami is ready to make “any sacrifice” to safeguard the party and is open to suggestions from all leaders. Senior leaders such as Mailam MLA C Ve Shanmugam could meet Palaniswami at any time and express their views, Krishnamurthy said. He was responding to Shanmugam’s remarks that Palaniswami should consult all stakeholders on the party’s “worst performance” in the bypolls and take corrective measures. He is working vigorously to bring back Amma’s govt,” Krishnamurthy said, adding that everyone, including Shanmugam, could air their views and offer suggestions at the meeting. “The senior minister’s statement is ample evidence that horse-trading is still going on,” he said, adding that the party had submitted supporting materials, including video footage of the minister’s remarks, and sought the governor’s intervention to end the practice. “Now, they are floating tenders to purchase power at such a high rate,” he said.
“The general secretary will convene the general council at an appropriate time. He alleged that the statement indicated that the C Joseph Vijay-led TVK govt was indulging in horse-trading. He reiterated the AIADMK’s charge that govt had created an artificial power crisis by cancelling tenders and agreements entered into by the previous DMK govt with power generation firms. The govt had also failed to anticipate electricity demand over the past four months, leading to the current situation, he alleged.