Met Amit Shah, discussed political situation, strengthening AIADMK, says Sengottaiyan

Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), Sep 9 (PTI) Veteran AIADMK leader K A Sengottaiyan on Tuesday said he met Union Ministers Amit Shah and Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi and apprised them about unifying and strengthening AIADMK by bringing back expelled leaders.

Sengottaiyan, who was relieved from his party posts after he set a 10-day deadline to bring back expelled leaders to strengthen the party, said he got an opportunity to meet Shah and Sitharaman in the national capital on September 8. When he met them, the AIADMK veteran said they discussed the current political situation in Tamil Nadu.

"Everyone should come together, unify, and the party should be strengthened and based on this objective, opinions were conveyed," Sengottaiyan told reporters here.

"Everyone has democratic rights and expressing one's opinion is welcome," he said, defending his meeting with Shah and added that he would continue to work for people's welfare and strengthening the AIADMK; which is his only goal.

Later, speaking in his home district of Erode, the AIADMK leader, also a former minister and Gobichettypalayam MLA, reiterated his refrain of strengthening his party and that the AIADMK-led alliance should win big in 2026 Assembly election by gaining further strength.

Meanwhile, veteran AIADMK leader M Thambidurai hailed party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami's leadership, and underlining Dravidian icon C N Annadurai's ideal of "duty, dignity and displine," said "discipline" is important. The AIADMK functioned unitedly and whatever decision Palaniswami took is final, Thambidurai told reporters in Delhi.

BJP leader Narayanan Thirupathy said that his party would not interfere in the internal affairs of any party. However, any leader may meet any leader, (any leader may meet union ministers/BJP leaders) and even if Sengottaiyan had met Shah there was nothing wrong in it. "The AIADMK will solve their issues by themselves and BJP will never involve; we will not intervene or interfere," he said.

Seventy-seven-year-old Sengottaiyan urged party general secretary Palaniswami on September 5 to "bring back" into the party fold all those who "left AIADMK" and face the Assembly election as a unified force.

Subsequently, he was removed from his post of AIADMK organisation secretary and Erode Suburban (West) district secretary.

Former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, confidante of late party supremo, VK Sasikala and her close relative TTV Dhinakaran and their supporters were the key leaders to face expulsion from the AIADMK in the past. PTI VGN VGN KH