Chennai: Amid a fresh round of internal strife in AIADMK, former ministers S P Velumani, C Ve Shanmugam and K P Anbazhagan called on senior TVK leader and minister for water resource department N Anand at the secretariat on Thursday.The AIADMK leaders downplayed the 20-minute meeting which took place after the agricultural budget was tabled. “We met the minister to discuss issues related to our assembly constituencies,” said Anbazhagan. He maintained that they did not discuss politics with the minister.“Our govt (AIADMK) had sanctioned ₹58 crore to implement a water scheme to divert the surplus water from Thenpennai river to Tholpetti in my constituency. But DMK govt did not implement it. So, I requested the minister to revive the scheme and make an announcement during the budget session,” Anbazhagan told TOI.Similarly, Velumani and Shanmugam said they raised issues related to their respective constituencies. They said there is “nothing wrong” in meeting the speaker or ministers related to the constituency or as a member of the legislature. When reporters asked Velumani if he was quitting AIADMK and if the meeting was to discuss his exit, he said there was no question of resigning from the party. “AIADMK is our party. Nothing can separate us from it,” he said.Political rivals are spreading false information that the meeting was political in nature, the leaders said. This comes amid speculation that Velumani and Shanmugam wanted the speaker to allow them to speak during the demand for grants on various departments, particularly issues related to their constituencies. Going by the existing practice of TN assembly, the respective party whip would furnish the list of legislators to participate in debates in the house.
