Media Eye News Bureau: Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam recently admitted that PM Narendra Modi asked him to merge his faction with Edappadi K. Palaniswami and join the AIADMK government.
He asserted, “The Prime Minister told me that under the present circumstances, the two [factions] should merge to save the party. I agreed for the merger and that should not be a problem. I told him I don’t want to be part of the government. For that he said, ‘No, no you should be a Minister and be part of the government.’ That is why I am a Minister now.
Panneerselvam added, “When I told this to my [present cabinet] colleagues Thangamani and Velumani. They also insisted that I have to be in the government. I don’t desire to be a Minister. Amma [Jayalalitha]) had made me an MLA four times and Chief Minister twice. I can live with that pride.”
