I didn't crawl for post, says TNCC chief lashing out at ex-CM Palaniswami for loyalty remark

Chennai, Sep 25 (PTI) TNCC chief K Selvaperuthagai lashed out at former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami for accusing him of lacking loyalty, and said on Thursday that he did not crawl below the table to get a position in party.

He asserted that leaders and cadres in the Congress were aware of his work, and they knew pretty well how to run the party.

"Is Palaniswami really loyal to the AIADMK? Can he have an alliance with the BJP, which criticised party founder M G Ramachandran and even accused former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa of being corrupt? He has no qualifications to talk about our party. I didn't crawl below the table and fall at the feet to obtain this post," the TNCC president told reporters when asked to comment on the AIADMK general secretary's remark.

While addressing a roadshow in Gudalur on September 24, Palaniswami, questioning Selvaperunthagai's loyalty to the Congress, claimed that while other leaders in the grand old party demanded a share in power, Selvaperunthagai had maintained that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had not sought a share in power with the DMK.

"Selvaperunthagai joined the Congress after a stint in many parties. He would not have spoken thus had he really worked for the Congress. He is loyal to the DMK and not the Congress," Palaniswami had alleged.

Selvaperunthagai said, "Our leaders recognise our work and reward us with party posts. We know how to run our party." Meanwhile, VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan, an ally of the ruling DMK, flayed Palaniswami for allegedly being "personal" in criticising the Congress president.

Before joining the Congress, Selvaperunthagai had been with the VCK.

In the past, the DMK had criticised Palaniswami of allegedly crawling below the table to fall at the feet of then AIADMK leader V K Sasikala to become the Chief Minister. Palaniswami had hit back, saying that he was not a lizard or snake to crawl. PTI JSP KH