OPS, EPS to meet PM on Monday, cases against party leaders on agenda?

The meeting assumes significance in the wake of the DVAC filing a disproportionate assets case against former transport minister Vijayabhaskar

AIADMK leaders O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswami will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday, amid speculation that the DMK government could fast-track investigation in cases related to alleged corruption during the party’s tenure.

Panneerselvam and Palaniswami are likely to be accompanied by senior party leaders when they meet Modi at around 11 am on Monday. Though party sources said the meeting was a “simple courtesy call” as EPS and OPS did not meet the Prime Minister after the assembly elections, speculation mounted about the agenda of the discussion.

The meeting assumes significance in the wake of the Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Vigilance (DVAC) filing a disproportionate assets (DA) case against former transport minister M R Vijayabhaskar. The filing of the case was preceded by day-long searches at 26 places in the state during which unaccounted cash to the tune of Rs 25 lakh was seized.

The raids at premises belonging to Vijayabhaskar are billed as the beginning of a long-drawn action by DVAC against alleged corruption deals during the AIADMK government. The AIADMK had termed the raids as “politically motivated”, but the DMK says the party’s manifesto has promised to set up a special court to try all corruption cases.

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The DMK, while in Opposition, had submitted a “charge sheet” against half-a-dozen AIADMK ministers accusing them of corruption to Governor Banwarilal Purohit. The meeting of OPS-EPS with Modi also comes close on the heels of ousted AIADMK interim general secretary V K Sasikala announcing her re-entry into active politics.

“The raids at Vijayabhaskar’s residence and the impending action against AIADMK big-wigs are likely to be the agenda at the meeting. What else do they have to discuss now?” a senior party leader asked.

AIADMK and BJP have shared close relations after the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa in 2016. It was at the insistence of the BJP, two factions of the AIADMK – one led by Panneerselvam, and another headed by Palaniswami merged in 2017. The parties signed a formal electoral alliance in 2019.