I am still the Chief Minister: OPS
Panneerselvam says he would prove his majority only on the floor of the Assembly
Continuing his defiance, O. Panneerselvam on Wednesday declared he was “still the Chief Minister” and that he would prove his majority only on the floor of the Tamil Nadu Assembly, where he is confident of establishing his strength among legislators.
“I am still the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The Governor, while accepting my resignation, asked me to continue as Chief Minister and I am doing my duty,” Panneerselvam declared at a press conference on Wednesday morning, a day after he raised a revolt against AIADMK general secretary V.K. Sasikala accusing her of forcing his resignation.
Though only five MLAs and Rajya Sabha MP V. Maitreyan expressed support to him by calling on him at this residence at the Greenways Road here, the Chief Minister claimed, “a situation would emerge where all MLAs would support me on the floor of the House.”
Responding to a volley of questions through the day, Panneerselvam said there was no “truth” in the allegations by Ms Sasikala that the DMK was behind his rebellion.
“Sasikala should explain the basis of her charge that DMK is behind my rebellion. I was never cordial with DMK and a look back into the history will make it clear. There is no relationship at all between the DMK and me,” Panneerselvam said.
“Is smiling (at Stalin) such a big crime? The only difference between humans and animals is that while humans can smile, animals can’t,” the Chief Minister said, responding to Sasikala’s charge that DMK leader Stalin and Panneerselvam were smiling at each other during the just concluded Tamil Nadu Assembly session.