AIADMK expels over 140 office-bearers

Chennai: Continuing to crack the whip, top AIADMK leaders O Panneerselvam and K Palaniswami today sacked more than 140 party functionaries belonging to Tuticorin district for bringing ‘disrepute’ to the organisation.

In a joint statement, the two leaders announced expelling 144 office-bearers belonging to AIADMK’s different organisational units in that district. The said persons were being axed from AIADMK as they went against party principles and “brought disrepute” to it, Panneerselvam, AIADMK coordinator, and Palaniswami, its co-coordinator, said in the statement. They asked their party workers not to have any truck with the expelled persons.

Palaniswami and Panneerselvam, who merged the factions led by them in August 2017, had last month warned of action against those who go against the party, following its loss in the December 21 RK Nagar assembly bypoll, won by sidelined party leader TTV Dhinakaran.

They had earlier too expelled a number of functionaries while stripping the party posts of some of the key aides of Dhinakaran.

Yesterday, they had expelled 53 persons belonging to the party’s Kancheepuram Central unit and five others from AIADMK’s trade union wing, Anna Thozhirsanga Peravai (ATP).