Former AIADMK minister C Vijayabaskar resigned from the Tamil Nadu Parliament on Tuesday, the fifth legislator from his party to leave the assembly after the elections. There are speculations that like the other four, he may also join the ruling Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) party.
Earlier in the day, the 52-year-old leader upped his stance against party president Edappadi K Palaniswami, widening the feud against the party high command.
Vijaya Bhaskar on Tuesday summoned Assembly Speaker Prabhakar at the Secretariat and tendered his resignation.
In an official statement, Prabhakar said: “In accordance with Rule 21 of the Legislative Assembly Rules, Member of Legislative Assembly for Viralimalai constituency Dr C Vijayabaskar has personally submitted his resignation letter to me.”
“Since his resignation letter is arranged as per Rule 22 of the Legislative Assembly Rules, I hereby accept it,” Prabhakar said.
With the resignation of Vijaya Bhaskar, the total number of AIADMK legislators who tendered their resignation after winning the Assembly elections rose to five.
The other four AIADMK MLAs who resigned are – S Jayakumar (Perundurai), K Maragadham Kumaravel (Madurantakam), Sathya Bama (Dharapuram), Isakki Subaya (Ambasamudram).
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Vijayabaskar is yet to respond to HT’s request for comment.
Earlier in the day, Vijayabaskar, in a social media post, without naming Palaniswami, criticized him, saying, “Leadership is neither power nor arrogance. It is a tender embrace full of devotion. Leadership that cannot win the hearts of its hardworking cadres, how will it win the hearts of the people??”
The fresh set of comments against Palaniswami by Vijayabhaskar comes in the wake of the statements he made against him on Monday where he said: “A leadership views its loyal, hardworking cadres as enemies and considers raising questions a crime, not the path to victory.”
Vijayabaskar stressed that history does not remember the number of expelled, but rather the number of people who “united” and the number of battlefields conquered.
“Leadership is important,” he said in a brief post.
The split in the AIADMK came to light in the assembly on May 13, when 25 MLAs from the C Ve Shanmugam-SP Velumani faction extended their support to the ruling TVK during the crucial floor test.
The AIADMK led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Tamil Nadu won 47 seats. While 22 MLAs under Palaniswami’s faction opposed the floor test.
Palaniswami replaced the 25 dissident MLAs by appointing officials to their posts. Vijayabhaskar who was serving the AIADMK as state organizing secretary and secretary of Pudukottai North district has been removed from his post.
However, week-long negotiations later led to the merger of SP Velumani’s faction under Palaniswami’s leadership.
Although there was a correction with the merger of the two factions, (former AIADMK minister and MLA from Milam constituency), CV Shanmugam and CV Vijayabhaskar could not be clearly seen under Palaniswami camp and they maintained that they were meeting voters from their respective constituencies to make them emerge victorious in the April 23 elections.
In May, Vijaya Bhaskar held a consultative meeting with his supporters in Pudukottai and formally announced that his next political move would be in sync with the wishes of his supporters and those who elected him from the Viralimalai Assembly constituency.
Vijayabaskar, a doctor by profession, said he received comments from his supporters and members of his constituency who were responsible for his victory from the Viralimalai assembly seat.
