Sharing the dais with his foe-turned-friend O Panneerselvam, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) chief T T V Dhinakaran on Tuesday said they have joined hands to “retrieve” the AIADMK and the party’s 'Two Leaves' symbol from the current leadership and give them back to the cadre.
Addressing a protest rally in Theni organised by Panneerselvam demanding a detailed probe into the 2017 murder-cum-burglary at the Kodanad bungalow of J Jayalalithaa, Dhinakaran said it was the “love and affection” for the that have brought them together by forgetting past bitter experiences.
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This was the first time that OPS and Dhinakaran spoke from the same platform after the former rebelled against the latter’s aunt and then AIADMK interim general secretary V K Sasikala in 2017. The protest was to demand the DMK government to expedite the case and arrest the culprits involved in the break-in at the Kodanad Estate in April 2017.
Though Palaniswami’s name cropped up in the case, but there was no concrete evidence to link him with the incident in Kodanad. OPS, at Tuesday’s protest, sought to know why electricity was suspended at the estate area on that fateful day and who “issued the orders” in this regard.
மாண்புமிகு புரட்சித்தலைவி அம்மா அவர்கள் வாழ்ந்த, கோடநாடு பங்களாவில் நடந்த கொலை, கொள்ளை வழக்கை விரைந்து விசாரிக்கக்கோரி திமுக அரசை வலியுறுத்தி தேனியில் இன்று அஇஅதிமுக சார்பில் அமமுக ஆதரவோடு நடைபெற்ற கண்டன ஆர்ப்பாட்டக் கூட்டத்தில்... pic.twitter.com/1UHzfuZkjL
— O Panneerselvam (@OfficeOfOPS) August 1, 2023
Maintaining that he will continue to work with OPS, Dhinakaran said they were not “after power” and still believe that cadres are the “axis” of any political party. “We are not interested in grabbing power and we don’t believe in corruption. OPS was CM thrice, and you people know that I don’t aspire for positions. Our only goal now is to retrieve the AIADMK and give it back to the cadres to whom the party belongs,” Dhinakaran said.
The break-in sent shock waves across Tamil Nadu and the incidents that followed – death of Kanagaraj and wife and daughter of one of the prime accused Sayan in separate road accidents and suspected suicide of a staff of the estate – deepened the mystery.
The two former foes appearing together at a protest march will be the beginning of a new political realignment in the state, in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The latest development comes amid Palaniswami’s strident opposition to take OPS or TTV into the AIADMK.
“The two have come together against Palaniswami who has now taken control of the party. By appearing together in a protest on Kodanad Estate, they want to show their loyalty to late Jayalalithaa and bring EPS in the line of fire,” another leader added.
The Kodanad murder-cum-burglary case has been in the limelight ever since the DMK government assumed office in 2021. The AIADMK led by Palaniswami says the case, which is being re-investigated by the CB-CID, was handled properly during its regime and there was no need to reopen it.