A casual RTI (Right To Information) query filed with the Prime Minister’s Office is said to have revealed the fact that contrary to the claims made by him to the press, Tamil Nadu deputy chief-minister O. Panneerselvam hadn’t broached the topic of supply of additional coal to the State.

After the two factions of AIADMK merged to form the unified AIADMK in early September, under the new arrangement, Edapadi K. Paniswami continued to remain the chief-minister while O. Panneerselvam was made the deputy chief-minister. OPS and EPS were also appointed as the convener and deputy convener of the party, abolishing the post of secretary (held by Sasikala) of the party.

OPS was reportedly unhappy at the way he was treated by EPS and his attempt to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to vent out his desperation didn’t bear fruit as he couldn’t get an appointment easily. After he met Modi in Delhi, OPS addressed newsmen and told them that he had only requested for allocation of more coal to meet the State’s growing needs and denied he discussed AIADMK’s affairs with the PM.

An RTI query filed with the PMO by an individual on 12th October has received a reply which said that the PMO wasn’t in receipt of any ‘written request’ from OPS on the need for more coal, thus proving that OPS hadn’t stated the facts to newsmen.  his has now triggered a fresh wave of controversy.