The AIADMK, which has been on the sidelines after losing power in the 2021 assembly elections followed by ego clashes leading to the exit of powerful Thevar leader and former Chief Minister, O. Panneerselvam, has now sounded the poll bugle for the 2024 general elections.
The party held a statewide protest on Wednesday demanding the removal of arrested minister Senthil Balaji from the MK Stalin cabinet. Balaji is continuing in the cabinet even after being remanded in judicial custody, but devoid of portfolios.
AIADMK general secretary and former CM Edappadi K. Palaniswami flagged off the protest at his home town in Salem. Party state organising secretary D. Jayakumar kicked-off the protest in Chennai.
The AIADMK leaders lashed out against the deteriorating law and order situation in the state and the high level of corruption. They reminded Stalin that his father Karunanidhi had removed tainted ministers from the cabinet and called upon him to emulate his father.
Senior AIADMK leaders SP Velumani, KA Sengottayian, CVe Shanmugham and P. Thangamani also participated in the protest.
A delegation of AIADMK leaders including CVe Shanmugham, D. Jayakumar, C. Vijayabhaskar and P. Benjamin had met Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on June 15 and handed over a memorandum from Palaniswami who is also the Leader of Opposition. The memorandum urged the Governor to remove Senthil Balaji from the cabinet.
Even after the Governor insisted on the removal of Balaji from the cabinet, the state government did not agree. Stalin cited the health condition of Balaji and allocated his portfolios to other ministers.
Sources in the AIADMK told IANS that the party held the protest across the state to revitalize its cadres and make the party a fighting force in the run up to the elections. IANS had reported earlier about the AIADMK appointing organisers in all the 234 assembly constituencies before the elections to directly connect with the people at the grassroots level.
The arrest of Senthil Balaji and the shifting of high-profile finance minister PTR Thiagarajan from Finance to IT has given an impression that all was not going well for Stalin and his government. The AIADMK has pounced upon that and is planning a major offensive against the Stalin government in the days to come.
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