AIADMK does not have any ties with BJP: Palaniswami

Krishnagiri (Tamil Nadu), Feb 11 (PTI) The opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Sunday asserted that his party had no ties with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre and slammed other political parties for spreading "false messages" in the media.

AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said his party had taken a "firm stand" of severing ties with the AIADMK last year and appealed to the media not to raise questions on this topic anymore.

"Some political parties still say that the AIADMK has some kind of indirect alliance with the BJP. I have told this repeatedly and even senior party leaders have clarified on many occasions; I will repeat it again: We do not have any alliance with the BJP," Palaniswami said at a meeting in which several members of various political outfits joined the AIADMK.

The former chief minister pointed out that a resolution was "unanimously" passed on September 25, 2023 at the party headquarters office in Chennai to sever ties with the BJP.

"I will say it again. AIADMK is not in any alliance with the BJP and it is also not part of the NDA coalition. We made this announcement after unanimously passing a resolution at our district secretaries' meeting. Despite passing a resolution, false messages on ties with the BJP are being spread in the media over the past five-to-six months by some political parties. I will say for the final time. We strongly deny having any alliance with the BJP," he asserted.

Palaniswami also clarified that his party has not forged any alliances for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls and said it would be done at the "right time".

Taking a dig at the seat-sharing talks between the DMK and the Congress, he said the ruling party in the state believed in forming an alliance with political parties instead of trusting the people of Tamil Nadu. "It is the AIADMK that believes in the people," he said, amid thunderous applause from party cadres. PTI