Dhinakaran-led Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhgam (AMMK) Denied ‘Pressure Cooker’ Symbol By Supreme Court

In a setback to the T T V Dhinakaran-led Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhgam (AMMK) political party, a Supreme Court bench comprising of justices A M Khanwilkar and Ajay Rastogi has turned down, at least for now, the entity’s demand for it to be granted the ‘pressure cooker’ symbol for elections, reports Business Standard.

Previously, the Delhi High Court on 9 March had asked the Election Commission (EC) to issue a common symbol, ideally the pressure cooker, as well as a name to the group which was then still existing as the AIADMK (Amma) faction.

The court has stated that if the matter is not disposed off by the high court within the next four weeks, the EC may act as per the directions of the 9 March order.

Also, in a reassurance for Dhinakaran’s outfit, the bench has also told the EC that it may allocate the said symbol to his group in a week if elections to vacant seats are conducted prior to the completion of the stipulated four week term.

The apex court has also withdrawn its previous order of abeyance on the high court’s directive; the Supreme Court had put the judgement on hold following a petition by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E K Palaniswami’s faction.

The high court proceedings stemmed from Dhinakaran’s challenge to the EC granting the ‘two leaves’ symbol to Palaniswami’s faction; in the same matter he had filed an application to be given the pressure cooker symbol, in consideration of the fact that his group had won the Radha Krishnan Nagar Assembly by-election with a margin of over 40,000 votes in December last year.