AIADMK MLA Sengottaiyan clarifies on absence from felicitation event attended by Edappadi Palaniswami

Former AIADMK Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan clarifies absence at ceremony due to missing pictures of former Chief Ministers.

Former AIADMK Minister and incumbent Gobichettipalayam MLA K.A. Sengottaiyan clarified that he did not “boycott” the felicitation ceremony organised for implementing the Avinashi–Athikadavu project at Annur in Coimbatore district on Sunday (February 9, 2025). Instead, he “chose not to participate” because the invitation and banners did not feature the pictures of former Chief Ministers M.G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa.

The ceremony was organised by farmers’ associations and attended by AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami. However, Mr. Sengottaiyan’s absence sparked a controversy, prompting him to issue a clarification in Gobichettipalayam on Monday (February 10).

Speaking to the media, he stated that members of the organising committee had met him three days earlier. He expressed his displeasure over the omission of the two former Chief Ministers’ pictures in the invitation and banners. “Had I been consulted, I would have brought this to their attention,” he said. He only noticed the absence of the pictures after the banners were displayed in public places. “They were the people who raised me,” he said, referring to his political journey under their leadership.

He also recalled that in 2011, then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had allocated ₹3.72 crore for the project, and then Public Works Department Minister K.V. Ramalingam had issued orders for the survey. “She laid the groundwork for the project, and I pointed this out to the organisers when I noticed her picture was missing,” he added.