Chennai: Citing a “rift” with a senior party functionary, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) General Secretary Vaiko’s son Durai Vaiko has resigned as the party’s principal secretary, a day before its crucial executive committee meeting.
The Tiruchirappalli MP, however, “firmly declared” he will continue to work for the party as its “first volunteer” and take part in the meeting on 20 April.
In a resignation statement in Tamil, Durai Vaiko alleged the functionary was indirectly working to destroy the party “by continuously giving news to the media in order to defame” him.
He further alleged that this individual has not been able to digest “my election as the party’s principal secretary for the past four years” and takes “pleasure” in harming the party and the leadership.
And in such a scenario, he said, “I did not want to continue serving as the party’s principal secretary”.
The junior Vaiko also said he would be participating in Sunday’s executive committee meeting. “However, I would not participate in any of the meetings henceforth (after that meeting) to take important decisions inside the party.”
He further said that he does not intend to cause any harm to the party and to his father through this decision. “I firmly declare that I will work for the party as the first volunteer of MDMK. The people of Trichy constituency have sent me to Parliament as their representative. I will serve those people as an MP with all my heart.”
Durai Vaiko was appointed as principal secretary in October 2021 amid significant internal dissent as the party was founded in 1994 by his father after he was expelled from the DMK for protesting MK Stalin’s elevation and the DMK’s dynastic politics.
While Durai Vaiko has not named anybody in his resignation letter, several MDMK workers ThePrint spoke to suggested he might be referring to Deputy General Secretary Mallai Sathya, considered one of the senior Vaiko’s close confidants.
ThePrint reached Sathya for comment and he asserted that all was well within the party. “He (Durai Vaiko) has made a decision. But, we do not know what our leader (Vaiko) has to say about it. We will go by what our leader says.”
Although the “rift” between Sathya and Durai Vaiko had been simmering for the last four years, it came to fore on 12 April during a meeting at the party office in Chennai.
According to MDMK sources, during the meeting Durai Vaiko offered to resign to address the issue.
“However, he was convinced then to stay on. But, now he has taken such a decision. He had been wanting his father Vaiko to remove Mallai Sathya from the party. But, Mallai Sathya is the right hand of our leader and has stood with our leader during all the times,” a senior leader from the MDMK told ThePrint, requesting anonymity.
After Durai Vaiko’s elevation as the principal secretary, there were a series of resignations from the party. First among them was the party’s youth wing secretary V Eswaran, who left the party just a day after Durai Vaiko was appointed.
Eswaran, who was with the party for over 28 years, formed a non-political outfit Marumalarchi Makkal Iyakkam to continue his social work in the Coimbatore region.
Three MDMK’s district secretary—Virudhunagar’s RM Shanmugasundaram, Sivaganga’s Sevanthiappan and Thiruvallur TRR Shenguttuvan—were stripped off the party’s primary membership in May 2022 as they criticised Durai Vaiko’s elevation and refused to appear before the internal disciplinary committee.
MDMK’s former presidium chairman S Duraisamy quit the party in May 2023, protesting his elevation.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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