AIADMK row: OPS back as party coordinator after Madras HC orders status quo, fresh General Council to be held

A crucial order by the Madras High Court has brought back former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister as the coordinator of the AIADMK, over a month after being ousted in the party’s General Council meeting on July 11. 

In a major setback to party’s interim general secretary Edappady K Palaniswami (EPS), a single-judge bench of Justice G Jayachandran ruled that the status quo of the General Council on June 23 is to be maintained, and a new General Council meeting is to be held.

The general council, AIADMK's highest decision-making body, 'expelled' rival leader O Panneerselvam and some of his associates from the party amid his leadership tussle with Palaniswami, who was picked as the interim general secretary of the party by the GC members.

The judge held that the co-ordinator and the joint co-ordinator alone shall convene the GC meeting. He also suggested nomination of an observer to conduct the meeting. The court was passing orders on the civil suits from O Panneerselvam and GC member Vairamuthu, today.

Later, the counsel appearing for Panneerselvam said the court has said the Coordinator and Joint Coordinator posts, held by OPS and Palaniswami, respectively earlier, "had not lapsed".

Advocate Guru Krishnakumar appearing for OPS said that the General Council was a small body and it was made to appear as if the decision of the GC was the opinion of the entire party. Aravind Pandian, another advocate representing OPS argued that the party presidium chairman cannot convene the GC meeting, but only can conduct it.

He said that there was no rule under the party bylaws that allows any other person other than the general secretary or the coordinator of the joint coordinator to convene the General Council meeting and, hence the GC was convened by the presidium chairman under Rule 19 and 20 of the AIADMK bylaw stands nullified.

However, the Palaniswami side represented by former Advocate General of Tamil Nadu, Vijay Narayanan, and two other lawyers argued that there were no illegalities or violations of the party code in calling the meeting.

They said that the actual announcement of the meeting was made on the floor of the June 23rd General Council meeting by the presidium chairman and the invitations were sent by the headquarters` office-bearers as the post of coordinator and joint coordinator had lapsed following a decision taken by the party executive committee in December 2021.

The June 23 GC meet, convened jointly by the two leaders earlier, had announced that the one and only demand of the GC members is to bring in a system of a single leadership for the party, favouring Palaniswami, also known as EPS.

On Wednesday, Pannneerselvam supporters celebrated the HC order by bursting crackers.