In a display of political courtesy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and his minister-son Udhayanidhi on Friday drove to the residence of expelled AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam to offer their condolences to his mother’s demise last month.
Panneerselvam’s mother Palaniammal (95) passed away in Theni district due to age-related illness on February 24. The former chief minister, who camped in his native town for over a fortnight to complete the rituals, returned to Chennai on Thursday night.
Stalin, Udhayanidhi, and HR & CE Minister P K Sekarbabu met Panneerselvam at his Greenways Road residence and offered their condolences. Former AIADMK leaders Panruti S Ramachandran, and MLA P H Manoj Pandian were also present when Stalin met Panneerselvam.
“It was a courtesy meeting to offer our condolences to OPS and his family members,” Udhayanidhi said. The meeting is part of the political courtesy that Stalin ushered in 2016 after the death of AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa. Before 2016, Jayalalithaa and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi never saw eye to eye and the political atmosphere was vitiated.
Stalin led DMK MLAs in paying tributes to Jayalalithaa after her death in 2016, a courtesy that the AIADMK reciprocated when Karunanidhi passed away in 2018. Stalin also drove to former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami’s residence in 2020 to condole his mother’s death.
Published 17 March 2023, 10:23 IST