The AIADMK faction led by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, the AIADMK Cadres Rights Retrieval Committee, on Thursday parted ways with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The announcement came from senior leader and a committee advisor, Panruti S. Ramachandran, who held a press briefing where other key members, including Panneerselvam (OPS), had participated.
Following this, the Committee will cease to be a member of the National Democratic Alliance, Ramachandran clarified, on a clear change in the faction, politically speaking. He said that OPS is already planning to go on a state-wide tour of Tamil Nadu so that he can meet the supporters and gauge the political situation. The group is deemed to determine its future alliances depending on the emergence of political situations.
The development follows the increasing tension between OPS and the central leadership of the BJP. One of the hotspots was the supposed non-release by the Centre of 2,151 crore under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan in the education sector. PS took a swipe at the BJP-led government, accusing the blockage of funds as Tamil Nadu failed to adopt the three-language formula provided in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. According to him, this was against the Right to Education (RTE) Act and against the federal structure of governance. He also reported that 25 per cent of students had lost their access to admission to privately run schools under the RTE quota on account of the strategy being adopted by the Centre.
To add to this tension, OPS is said to have been refused a meeting with PM Narendra Modi when the latter visited Tamil Nadu in late July, something that is said to have worsened the tension in the mind of OPS. Whereas BJP Tamil Nadu unit president Nainar Nagendran claimed to be unaware of the request, OPS has been seen as having a falling out as a consequence in the NDA.
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