Chennai: Tamil Nadu Minister D Jayakumar on Thursday sought to downplay reports of a rift between Chief Minister E Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, saying that there are no differences between the two.
On reports that Panneerselvam earlier skipped the meeting called by the Chief Minister and met party members, he said, "He is our party organisation coordinator, so what is the problem if he meets party members. There could be many reasons for not attending the Chief Minister's meeting, like meeting medical experts etc. But please don't link it to politics," said the Minister for Fisheries and Administration Reforms.
Some reports said that Panneerselvam had skipped the meeting called by the Chief Minister on Tuesday to review COVID pandemic situation in the state, but met party members. Earlier, sources told reporters that during the AIADMK's executive party meet on Monday, the discussions for party's Chief Ministerial face was debated for more than five hours with Palaniswami and Panneerselvam in the race.
