Jayakumar rules out meeting between EPS-OPS, merger of factions

CHENNAI: Senior AIADMK leader and former minister D Jayakumar on Tuesday categorically rejected the possibility of a meeting between AIADMK ‘interim’ general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam nor merger of the two factions.

“It will not happen,” Jayakumar said firmly while responding to a question on OPS supporter KP Krishnan’s claim that they cannot rule out the meeting with the two leaders in Erode in the coming days. He said this after calling on Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officers Satyabrata Sahoo to petition against the brazen violation in Erode East constituency.

Calling OPS as the DMK’s B Team, Jayakumar said he has been trying to obstruct the party’s Two-Leaves symbol and acted against the interest of the party. He was full of contradictions.

“After his repeated attempts did not frutified, he is pretending to be despised like the animal in ‘The Fox and the Grapes’ story,” said Jayakumar and drew a parallel between OPS and Fox that walked off scornfully after his repeated attempts to fetch the grapes ended in vain.

He also ridiculed OPS camp for stating that they would campaign for the party symbol and wondered what stops them from referring to the candidate name. “It is his personal response and it has nothing to do with the party’s official stand,” he said while responding to a question on KA Sengottaiyan’s “welcome” response to the decision of OPS camp to withdraw their candidate, T Senthil Kumar. Jayakumar also ridiculed Senthil Kumar as “scapegoat”.

Jayakumar said this bypoll would come as a shock to the DMK government despite it unleashing its money power and using the government machinery to their advantage in the electioneering. “I want to convey the good news that AIADMK will register a massive victory in the bypoll,” he said and noted that they have flagged the large-scale violations in the Erode East constituency to the ECI and the state authorities on multiple occasions. The officials have assured them to take appropriate measures.