Countering AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami’s (EPS) claim that the BJP had saved the party government after Jayalalithaa’s demise, TTV Dhinakaran, who recently quit the NDA in Tamil Nadu, on Tuesday sought to set the record straight. He asserted that it was Jayalalithaa’s confidant VK Sasikala, not the saffron party, who prevented the government from collapsing.
A day after EPS asked the party cadre to remain grateful to the BJP, warning that anything else would amount to “rank ingratitude,” Dhinakaran, nephew of Sasikala and leader of the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), told reporters in Thanjavur that all 122 AIADMK MLAs had voted for the government only on Sasikala’s advice, with no role played by the BJP.
“It was the AIADMK legislators, under Sasikala’s guidance, who collectively saved the government—not the BJP. They were kept in the Koovathur resort (to prevent poaching) and ensured EPS became the Chief Minister,” Dhinakaran said, adding, “What EPS is saying now is like the devil quoting scriptures. He is rambling out of sheer fear of losing the upcoming Assembly election.”
He further said: “It is wrong to claim that the BJP saved the AIADMK government. It is a blatant lie. The 122 MLAs stood by Sasikala’s words. It was the AIADMK legislators who saved EPS, not the BJP. EPS will certainly bite the dust in the election. With actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and Seeman’s Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) entering the fray, this time it will be a four-cornered contest. If EPS loses, we cannot be held responsible.”
Dhinakaran also questioned, “If the BJP had really saved his government, why did EPS desert the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha election?” He added that “EPS is known for betrayal, and everyone knows he has no credibility.”
Dhinakaran’s attack came in the wake of EPS firmly ruling out re-admitting him or former Deputy CM O. Panneerselvam (OPS) into the AIADMK, branding them “traitors who have not changed their ways.”
At the Anna birth anniversary rally in Chennai on Monday, EPS said: “How can we readmit a person (OPS) who voted against the government in the no-confidence motion? Even then, he was accommodated as Deputy CM, but he later stormed into the AIADMK headquarters and ransacked it. Another (Dhinakaran) abducted 18 MLAs to topple the government.” EPS added that “self-respect is more important to him and the party than power or position,” while praising the BJP for saving his government during turbulent times.
Without naming senior dissident K.A. Sengottaiyan, whose 10-day ultimatum ended on Monday, EPS also said: “The ousted leaders are dictating terms through their lackeys. Their machinations will be firmly ended.”