The AIADMK’s district secretaries, who met at the party headquarters on Tuesday morning, adopted a resolution, condemning State president of the BJP, K. Annamalai, for his allusory reference to the conviction of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
The meeting, which lasted nearly 90 minutes, was chaired by general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami and attended by senior leaders of the party. After it was over, Mr. Palaniswami read out the text of the resolution in the presence of media persons.
A senior functionary said Mr. Palaniswami also reviewed the membership enrollment drive of the party. It was he who did the talking during the meeting. When all the district secretaries spoke in one voice that a resolution be adopted against Mr. Annamalai, he immediately agreed to the demand and got the text of the motion ready.
Accusing the BJP leader of making an “unacceptable comment deliberately and with a motive” and describing him as “politically inexperienced and immature,” the resolution said his observation had caused “anguish, stress and indignation” among the party’s workers and people. Pointing out that leaders such as Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L. K. Advani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held her in high esteem, the motion, which gave an account of accomplishments of the former Chief Minister, claimed that the “introduction” provided by Jayalalithaa, who led the AIADMK-led coalition in 1998, to the BJP was primarily responsible for the latter to be able to come to power at the Centre then.
The resolution also talked of Mr. Palaniswami’s role in getting four representatives of the BJP elected to the State Assembly where the national party went unrepresented for 20 years.
