‘Kneel And Apologise Before Amma Memorial’: AIADMK Sets Terms For Disqualified MLAs Return To Party

The ruling Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Monday (29 October) has asked the 18 disqualified MLAs formerly of the party, who had chosen to side with T T V Dhinakaran to “kneel and apologise” at the memorial of late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha and return to the party, as reported by PTI.

‘Namathu Amma’, the mouthpiece of the party, stated that the victory of all the 18 MLAs in the 2016 Assembly polls was due to the influence of the late AIADMK supremo and asked them to repent their actions before returning to the parent organisation.

It said that the disqualified MLAs have “come on the streets” by siding with Dhinakaran and are in a pitiable situation and those who became MLAs because of ‘Amma’ were now reduced to nothing due to them joining the wrong camp.

"You had deserted the temple called AIADMK and joined AMMK. Whether you went for benefits or unwittingly, this situation has come up because of your veering off the path shown by Amma (Jayalalithaa)," it said.

"Deeply repent (your actions). Kneel before Amma (at her memorial at Marina) and seek a tearful apology. Issue an apology letter to the party and return on time," it added.

The fact that Dhinakaran had been earlier dismissed from the party by Jayalalitha was also mentioned. The Madras High Court on 25 October had upheld the previous order disqualifying the 18 MLAs which came as a breather for the under pressure Edappadi K Palaniswamy led AIADMK government.