Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam on Tuesday struck an emotional and combative note, publicly questioning the political isolation he claims to have faced and, in a moment heavy with implication, asking whether he should simply step away from public life.

Speaking in Bodinayakanur after distributing welfare assistance to the public on the occasion of the 70th birth anniversary of former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, Panneerselvam laid bare what he described as years of humiliation and misrepresentation.

“After Jayalalithaa’s demise, I had no desire to become Chief Minister. I was compelled to take up the post,” he said, recalling the turbulent days following her passing. “Subsequently, in various ways, I was insulted and removed from office.”

The former AIADMK leader said that regardless of whether he was in the ruling dispensation or in the Opposition, it had always been his political culture to greet a new government at the end of an electoral cycle. “On that basis alone, I conveyed my greetings to the DMK government. But it has been spread as though I am extending support to the DMK,” he said, suggesting a deliberate distortion of his position.

Responding to remarks made by T. T. V. Dhinakaran, who had described him as a “tiger in a deer’s skin”, Panneerselvam chose restraint over retaliation. “Out of political civility and culture, I refrain from using harsh words. If I wish, I can use words far worse than his,” he said, stopping short of escalation but making clear his displeasure.

In a poignant turn, he asked: “Can I now go to the Sankara Mutt? What wrong have I committed to be isolated in politics to this extent? Tell me that truth — I will leave politics.” The rhetorical question underscored both personal hurt and political frustration, even as it hinted at a deeper churn within the AIADMK ranks.

Panneerselvam reiterated that the DMK had stitched together a formidable alliance and that defeating it would require all AIADMK functionaries to act in unison. “That is what I have been consistently emphasising,” he said. At the same time, he dismissed speculation that he would float a separate party, asserting that he would not take such a step.

Invoking the legacy of party founders, including M. G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa, he maintained that he would continue to pursue legal remedies so long as the party’s established rules and organisational framework were not adhered to. “Until the regulations laid down by MGR and Jayalalithaa are honoured within the AIADMK, I will continue my legal struggle,” he said.

The remarks, delivered with visible emotion, come at a time when the AIADMK remains internally fractured and electorally diminished. Whether Panneerselvam’s words signal a final rupture or yet another appeal for reconciliation will depend on how the party’s competing power centres respond in the days ahead.