AIADMK interim general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) on Thursday sent a legal notice to former party coordinator O Panneerselvam (OPS) accusing him of using a “forged seal”, and sharing a “fraudulent and illegal notice” issued under the AIADMK letterhead, which was shared with the media, reported The Indian Express.
OPS’s document was titled ‘Headquarters Announcement’ which, according to the notice, “misrepresented” him as the coordinator and treasurer of the party.
The legal notice was sent a day after OPS, who was expelled from the party in July, targeted Palaniswami and challenged him to find a new party “instead of capturing the party” using “money power”.
The notice cited that he used a “forged seal” in which he claimed that it was issued with the concurrence as the ‘Party Coordinator, Treasurer and Former Chief Minister.’
“Such an act is outright illegal, amounts to fraudulent misrepresentation and forgery and, as such, you are liable to be punished as per the law of the land,” EPS said in his legal notice, as quoted by IE.
“Panneerselvam had resorted to cheap tactics of forging the seal of the headquarters of the AIADMK and party letterhead, which is wholly a criminal act, liable for punishment under the law,” the notice further states.
OPS held the post of party coordinator before he was ousted from the party.
Further, Palaniswami said the Supreme Court has also not interfered with or modified any portion of the order passed by the division bench dated September 2, this year.
Setting aside a single judge’s order nullifying the July 11 GC meeting in which EPS was elected interim general secretary of the party, a division bench of Madras High Court on September 2 delivered a verdict in favour of former CM Palaniswami on the conduct of July 11 general council (GC) meeting of AIADMK.
The single judge bench in his verdict on August 17, 2022, ordered status quo ante as on June 23 in AIADMK affairs, and thereby brought back the earlier arrangement of coordinator and joint coordinator posts.
The notice stated that although he was expelled on July 11, 2022, till date Panneerselvam chose to remain silent and has not challenged the resolutions passed by the general council, removing him from the primary membership of the party.