In yet another instance of regionalism on display from AIADMK leaders, tourism minister Vellamandi Srinivasan has made a pitch to make central city Trichy the second capital of Tamil Nadu, diverging opinion after certain Madurai-based ministers wanted prominence for the southern temple town.
At a press briefing, Srinivasan (hailing from Trichy East) referred to the plans for Trichy as AIADMK icon MG Ramachandran's dream idea. He extended a formal request to the ruling combination Edappadi K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam to work towards that "dream".
Earlier, ministers from Madurai such as RB Udayakumar and Sellur Raju had made public comments, seeking the AIADMK's top order to focus on the temple town. While Palaniswami hails from Erode in the state's western Kongu belt, Panneerselvam is from Theni's Periyakulam near Madurai. Queried about the varied demands emerging from AIADMK ministers from non-Chennai districts, culture minister K Pandiarajan sought to underplay the trend, saying the government will take a call on the demands.
The comment on Trichy, on Wednesday, arrived at a time the AIADMK was showing increasing signs of internal disagreement. Right on Independence day, a group of ministers shuttled between the residences of Panneerselvam and Palaniswami seeking to put an end to what appeared to be a tiff over the chief ministerial candidate for 2021 elections.
The comments for second state capital is seen as an offshoot of the fault-lines in the current power structure of the AIADMK, which has come under pressure several times since the death of J Jayalalithaa.
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