NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has kept abeyance on an interim order issued by the Delhi High Court directing the Election Commission of India (ECI) to consider giving TTV Dhinakaran's Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) an election symbol, preferably a 'pressure cooker' which was successfully used by him in the RK Nagar constituency by-election.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, requested the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court to constitute a Division Bench to hear the petition filed by Dhinakaran claiming his faction as the real AIADMK and that the party symbols of 'Two Leaves' should go to him. The High Court had on March 9 directed the poll panel to allot a common symbol, and a name to the faction led by Dhinakaran. He had asked for the pressure cooker symbol as he had it in December last year when he won the RK Nagar by-election with a margin of over 40,000 votes. Meanwhile, the ruling E Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam group had opposed Dhinakaran's plea on several frounds, including that his faction had to register itself as a separate party to get a name and symbol and that the appropriate forum for the matter was the Madras High Court.
Dhinakaran has said AIADMK leaders are approaching courts to restrain the AMMK from using its party flag out of fear of losing their hold over the party and power. “The people in Tamil Nadu are smart enough to differentiate between Anna on the AIADMK flag and Amma on our party flag,” Dhinakaran said. “The court has not stayed, but only kept in abeyance the Delhi high court order. We have been given time to submit our views and we will succeed in our efforts.” His statements came as a reaction to the Supreme Court order.
