AIADMK factions move towards reunion, rebel MLAs back EPS

CHENNAI: Warring factions within the AIADMK on Wednesday moved towards reconciliation, with leaders from both camps signalling unity and a possible end to the internal rift.“It is over. We are all together like mother and child,” former minister K C Veeramani said after arriving at senior leader C Ve Shanmugam’s residence, where MLAs from the rebel camp had been asked to assemble.The AIADMK’s IT wing also sought to play down the differences, asserting that there was “no division” within the party and describing it as an “iron fortress” built on the sacrifices of its cadres.In a parallel development, former minister S P Velumani, along with 11 MLAs from the rebel camp, called on AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami at his Greenways Road residence. The meeting followed marathon talks between the two sides over the past couple of days.Sources said the Velumani-led group agreed to function under Palaniswami’s leadership, while the latter is learnt to have agreed to withdraw his complaint seeking action against the rebel MLAs under the anti-defection law. The leaders are likely to meet Speaker J C D Prabhakar later in the day and submit a representation from Palaniswami requesting that no action be taken against the MLAs.