Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 6 : All India Anna Dravid Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) MLA KA Sengottaiyan on Saturday said the party must unite and return to power to serve the people of Tamil Nadu for the next hundred years, reflecting the wishes of the cadre and the public.
He stressed that the movement started by party founders MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa must return to power to serve the people of Tamil Nadu.
"I have expressed a request to unite the party in a way that reflects the wishes of the majority of party cadres and the general public that the great people's movement, the AIADMK, which was founded by Puratchi Thalaivar M.G.R and successfully led by Puratchi Thalaivi Amma, must return to power and continue to serve the people of Tamil Nadu for another hundred years," Sengottaiyan wrote on X.
The MLA also thanked supporters who gathered in large numbers when he addressed the press on Friday. "Thousands of people gathered after learning about this press meet and gave me a grand welcome. I offer my heartfelt thanks -- countless crores of thanks -- to each and every one of them as a token of my gratitude. Thank you!," he said.
Earlier, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami removed Sengottaiyan from his roles as District Organisation Secretary and District Secretary of Erode Suburban West District with immediate effect.
"In the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Erode Suburban West District: Thiru. K.A. Sengottaiyan, M.L.A., who has been holding the responsibilities of District Organization Secretary and District Secretary of the Erode Suburban West District, is hereby relieved of these responsibilities with effect from today," the party said in an official statement.
Reacting to the decision, Sengottaiyan said he was happy with the step taken by the party high command.
The removal came after Palaniswami held a meeting in Dindigul with seven senior leaders and former ministers, including Dindigul Srinivasan, Natham Viswanathan, KP Munusamy, SP Velumani, Kamaraj, OS Manian, and Vijayabaskar.
On Friday, Sengottaiyan had called for the return of expelled leaders such as V K Sasikala, O Panneerselvam and T T V Dhinakaran, saying their presence was vital for the AIADMK to perform well in elections.
He said that after the Lok Sabha election results, several senior leaders urged Palaniswami to reinstate the expelled leaders, but the suggestion was not accepted.
"I am working to ensure a united AIADMK. Since 2016, the election results have not been in our favour. If we had an alliance with the BJP, we would have won 30 seats in the Parliament election," Sengottaiyan said at the press conference.
"Despite whatever efforts we made, we could not achieve success and win. After we lost the election, we senior leaders met with EPS and offered our suggestions. EPS was not able to listen to and follow our suggestions," he added.
He reiterated that AIADMK could only win elections if the expelled leaders were brought back into the party.