The AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Monday appealed to dissidents in his party for talks.

Accusing the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government of having “stabbed in the back” of the AIADMK by resorting to “horse-trading;” luring a section of the party leaders with “offers of [sharing] power” and having attempted to wean away some functionaries of the party from the organisation, Mr Palaniswami, who called the TVK regime a “puppet regime,” said: “all parties have issues. If our party is having issues, let us discuss them and iron them out. through discussion. “ He contended that the TVK government would not last long. It had “fallen at the feet” of allies of the DMK for survival.

He recalled that the party, which had suffered electoral setbacks in the past, had withstood them too. When former Chief Minsters M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa were at the helm of affairs of the party, some persons had “betrayed” the party and they were taken back after they expressed apology. “We [in the party] are functioning based on their guidance,” Mr Palaniswami observed.

On reports in the media about the alliance between the DMK and the AIADMK for forming a government, the AIADMK general secretary denied them and that people and the party’s functionaries were “convinced” that there was “no scope for such a tie-up.”