Tamil Nadu: Loyal MLAs threatened, claims TTV Dhinakaran camp

CHENNAI: Politics is heating up the otherwise misty and cool locales of Kodagu in southern Karnataka, where some Tamil Nadu MLAs owing allegiance to the VK Sasikala camp--which has locked horns with the ruling AIADMK --are now cloistered.

The rival camp, headed by the late former chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s close aide Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran, is now claiming that the ruling AIADMK is using its might to either threaten or extend sweet deals to its MLAs.

“Police officials entered our rooms and initially threatened us saying if we do not return to the ruling AIADMK they will foist cases on us. Later they asked us to speak to the chief minister ( Edappadi K Palaniswami) and the deputy chief minister (O Panneerselvam) over phone saying that we will be offered any amount of money we demanded,” Senthil Balaji, a former minister and an MLA from Dhinakaran camp told reporters in Kodagu earlier on Wednesday.

The rival camp’s MLAs had approached the local police in Karnataka seeking security and to take necessary action against the Tamil Nadu police who they alleged were threatening them.

The ruling AIADMK however, refuted the claims. “These are all false allegations. The police had gone to do its duty and it completed the same. And even a common will know such deals if at all any will not be proposed to the MLAs by a police officer. We are strong. People are willing to come here. If at all a need so arises we will prove absolute majority on the floor and there is no doubt about it,” said a senior representative of the unified AIADMK (Amma and Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) requesting not to be named.

Dhinakaran who spoke to reporters at his residence in Chennai came to the support of his MLAs stating that they will not bow down to such pressure tactics. “Having the government in their hands they think that they can use their powers to threaten us. That will never happen. We are standing strong and we are taking all efforts to bring this government down. They should know what has happened to people who have tried to misuse their powers in the past.”

About three weeks ago about 19 MLAs belonging to the Dhinakaran camp had handed over similar individual signed letters to the Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao stating that they had lost faith in the chief minister and demanded a change of guard in the state government.