The Madras High Court gave a go ahead for the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general council meet scheduled in Chennai on Monday, July 11, 2022 to abolish the posts of cordinator and joint coordinator and instead elect an interim general secretary.
Justice Krishnan Ramasamy dismissed applications filed by party leader O. Panneerselvam and general council member P. Vairamuthu alias 'Amman' Vairamuthu to injunct the party from conducting the meet. The order was passed at 9 am, shortly before the meet was slated to commence.
Mr. Panneerselvam had filed the application, along with his civil suit, by asserting that he continues to be the coordinator of the party and that his tenure would come to an end only after five years from December 6, 2021 when he got elected unopposed to the post along with joint coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami.
There had been severe infighting in the party ever since the call for unitary leadership, as against the dual leadership, gained prominence recently. As a result, a general council meet scheduled for June 23 could not amend the bylaws due an interim order passed by a Division Bench of the High Court at 4:40 am that day.
Though that order was subsequently stayed by the Supreme Court, Mr. Panneerselvam and the other litigant instituted the present civilsl suits along with sub applications for stalling the next general council meet planned on July 11 specifically for the purpose of bringing back the practice of a single person leading the party.
Volunteers of the party, who gathered outside the venue of the general council’s meeting in Vanagaram, raised slogans in favour of Mr. Palaniswami, when they received the news regarding the High Court’s go ahead for the event. Speakers at the general council observed that the Court’s order had vindicated their position.