Won't talk until Jaya's death is probed: OPS camp on AIADMK merger

The Edappadi Palanisamy camp maintained that a decision on the probe would be taken after the court's verdict on a PIL seeking investigation into Jayalalithaa's death.

The Panneerselvam camp of the AIADMK is adamant on milking the merger cow. Not contended with Edappadi Palanisamy camp yielding to demands made earlier, Panneerselvam camp now wants CBI probe ordered into Jayalalithaa's death before talks of merger begin. K P Munusamy of the Panneerselvam camp, in rather strong words, demanded that a CBI probe be ordered into J Jayalalithaa's death.

While a fair probe into Jayalalithaa's death was one of the preconditions set by Panneerselvam for merger talks, the demand has been raised once again with more vigour and authority this time around. The Panneerselvam camp also sought an official resignation from Sasikala Natarajan and Dinakaran and demanded that it be submitted before talks begin.

"We demand that the government order a CBI probe into Jayalalithaa's death. We also want official resignation letters of Sasikala and TTV Dinakaran. Leaders of that camp are making comments on the Chief Minister post but let me assure you that the issue hasn't been discussed. We have not sought the Chief Minister's post and it is not a concern," K P Munuswamy of the Panneerselvam camp said.

The Edappadi Palanisamy camp, however, has said that they have no demands and are willing to hold talks with no expectations. "Making fresh demands on a daily basis will only block the merger talks. We decided to unite the party keeping in mind the wishes of the cadres," said Minister Jayakumar of the Palanisamy camp. The team also said that a decision on the probe will be taken after the court's verdict on a PIL seeking probe into Jayalalithaa's death.

While the demands of the Panneerselvam camp are not new, the manner in which they are being raised has not gone unnoticed. While some may call it the new confidence of the Panneerselvam team thanks to Edappadi camp yielding to their demands, other believe that it is stretching it a little too much. The hard bargain now puts talks in jeopardy.

OneIndia News