CHENNAI: AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran on Friday escalated his attack on TVK by questioning the authenticity of a video released by the Vijay-led party showing MLA S Kamaraj extending support to form the government, even as TVK officials claimed that the support was voluntary and based on direct communication with MPs and a team of party strategists.The standoff came at a time when TVK was defending its decision to approach Governor RV Alrekar before gaining public support from all opposition parties. On Friday, TVK had internally calculated that if it gets support from 107 MLAs, five Congress MPs, four Left MPs and Mr Kamaraj’s letter of support, it can cross the halfway point of 233 seats, with the floor test taking the number to 117.However, Dhinakaran on Saturday claimed that the letter and video circulated by TVK were fabricated and demanded that the original of the signed document be made public. Referring to the footage released online, he questioned who recorded the video and who coordinated the move within TVK, naming chief coordinator KA Sengottaiyan and working CTR Nirmal Kumar.Mr Dhinakaran termed the video “AI-generated” and accused Mr Vijay’s party of fabricating it to strengthen its case against the governor. He also claimed that the letter of support submitted by TVK was included among the attachments attached to the communication from Mr. Vijay to the Raj Bhawan and demanded an inquiry into the matter to verify its authenticity.Meanwhile, TVK sources claimed that Kamaraj had voluntarily agreed to support the party and was in constant touch with members of the strategist team even before submitting the letter. The party has denied allegations of coercion and horse-trading, especially after Dhinakaran’s efforts to formally align AMMK and TVK earlier this week failed. TVK leaders privately claimed that pressure from the NDA triggered the reversal.
