OPS camp miffed as party paper ‘downplays’ Deputy CM’s news?

Photocopy of news item related to OPS being carried in the party organ in an insignificant manner is now being circulated among the deputy CM supporters within the party. Hit by the discrimination, OPS supporters are now promoting their leader through private youtube channels.

“Last year the state government calendar featured Deputy Chief Minister Panneerselvam prominently and in the year 2020, his pictures lost significance and the party convenor was given the importance of a state Minister. The same formula is now followed by the party organ Namadhu Amma,” said a senior OPS loyalist.

“On August 24, the party organ carried just a two-column photo of Deputy CM addressing party cadres in Theni, whereas the picture of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami was played up prominently on a daily basis,” recalled the party senior.

At times Ministers from the Kongu region, dominated by the CM, is given more significance, the senior alleged adding that all the party cadre and functionaries are giving advertisements to the party. A few loyalists of ‘Dharmayutha nayagan’ had also suggested a “Thondanai Thedi rally,” where the party convenor should take a statewide tour to meet the cadre in rural and urban pockets.

Reacting on the issue, an AIADMK headquarters source said that the Ministers from the Kongu region, particularly SP Velumani and P Thangamani are releasing more advertisements to the party organ and that is one of the reasons for the western Ministers to get more paid up advertisement space.

Namadhu Amma editor Marudhu Alaguraj on the issue said that the party organ’s policy was to cover the articles of both the AIADMK leaders OPS and EPS. On the particular day, there was no reporter to cover the event addressed by the Deputy CM in Theni and the picture came late. So, we carried the item on page one just with a photo to record the event. The matter was also explained to the Deputy CM and he magnanimously understood the difficulties of a newsroom, Alaguraj said adding that even the advertisements given by the party workers are designed in such a way that both the AIADMK leaders are given equal importance.