The ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu has moved the Madras High Court, seeking to restrain sidelined leader T T V Dhinakaran from using any colour combination deceptively similar to its flag in the flag of his new party or any other material.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami, who is also the joint co-coordinator of the AIADMK, sought the leave of the court to file the suit, seeking a permanent injunction against Dhinakaran in this regard.
Justice C V Karthikeyan granted leave for filing the suit when the plea, filed before Dhinakaran launched his party in Madurai yesterday, came up for hearing today.
Dhinakaran had yesterday launched his new party, the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, and unveiled its flag, which features the image of a smiling Jayalalithaa, the late chief minister. The flag is black on top and red below with white in the middle.
In the suit, Palaniswami submitted that the AIADMK flag was described in rule 4 of the party's Rules and Regulations, which clearly stated that the upper half of it should be black in colour, the lower half red and the bust of late chief minister C N Annadurai superimposed in white in the middle.
The flag set the AIADMK apart from the other political parties and gave it an unique identity for four decades since its launch in 1972, he contended.
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Palaniswami said Dhinakaran was expelled by the "eternal" general secretary of the party, J Jayalalithaa, on December 19, 2011 and not re-inducted till her death in December, 2016.
Dhinakaran was re-inducted into the party last year by V K Sasikala, a close aide of Jayalalithaa, as a primary member and immediately appointed the deputy general secretary, before she proceeded to serve her jail term in a corruption case, he said.
Palaniswami also submitted that the Election Commission (EC), in its November 23, 2017 order, had held that the party headed by Dhinakaran was not the original AIADMK.
Though Dhinakaran had challenged the EC's order in the Delhi High Court, no stay had been granted on his plea, he added.
Thus, if Dhinakaran was allowed to use the "unique" black, red and white colour combination of the AIADMK in any deceptively misleading flag or any promotional material of his party, it would cause confusion among the public, Palaniswami contended.
He also claimed Rs 25 lakh as damages.