‘BJP has not interfered with AIADMK internal matters’

The BJP has not interfered with the internal matters of the AIADMK, the party’s interim general secretary, Edappadi K Palaniswami, said,

He indicated this in a speech at a meeting of the district secretaries, senior functionaries, MPs, MLAs and spokespersons at the AIADMK headquarters in Chennai.

The meeting lasted more than an hour.

Revealing this, sources in the party said Mr. Palaniswami’s observation was a passing reference and he did not dwell upon the matter.

The interim general secretary’s reference to the BJP assumes significance in the wake of reports in sections of the media that the AIADMK was distancing itself from the national party. Besides, at a protest in Cuddalore about 10 days ago, C. Ve. Shanmugam said the DMK was going to abandon its allies and it would align itself with the BJP.

On holding a conference on a big scale, Mr. Palaniswami said at the meeting that he would discuss the matter with the party’s senior leaders and take a decision. Presidium chairman Tamilmagan Hussain and senior leaders K.P. Munusamy, Natham R. Viswanathan and Dindigul C. Sreenivasan also spoke at the meeting.