Chennai/Trichy: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday said the party did not depend on any individual and was not concerned about those who switched loyalties for power. He described AIADMK as a movement built on the trust of its loyal cadre and urged partymen to “teach betrayers a lesson”.Palaniswami was speaking at a review meeting at the party headquarters with functionaries from Karur, the Nilgiris and Virudhunagar districts to assess the party’s electoral performance. He said the exit of former ministers, including M R Vijayabhaskar, would have little impact on the party’s prospects. “The party is bigger than any individual,” he told functionaries, asking them to set aside differences and work towards a victory in the Karur bypoll and the rural local body elections.Functionaries who attended the meeting quoted Palaniswami as saying that those who had left the part no longer enjoyed the prominence in their new parties that they had in AIADMK. “Just as the exit of Senthilbalaji and others did not affect the party, those who have now betrayed us will also make no difference because the loyal AIADMK cadre remain with us,” said Karur district secretary Kamalakkannan.Functionaries from Virudhunagar were also instructed to focus on the local body polls. “Our leader gave a clear message that a convincing victory in the local body elections, along with retaining the constituencies won on the two leaves symbol in the bypolls, will help restore AIADMK’s legacy,” said a functionary from the Virudhunagar West unit.Meanwhile, Palaniswami, in a statement, condemned TVK govt over the custodial death of a 34-year-old differently abled man in Nagercoil district. “Similar to the previous DMK govt, TVK govt too has fixed a price for priceless human lives,” he said. “The chief minister appears to think such deaths can be hushed up by announcing compensation. Such an approach is causing pain to the people,” he added, urging chief minister C Joseph Vijay to govern without disappointing those who had voted for him in the hope of change.
