Chennai: The AIAMDK, which has been going through a political slugfest, witnessed an actual one on Sunday when a minister and Assembly deputy speaker fought publicly to sit next to Chief Minister E Palaniswami on the dais at an event in Tiruppur city.

An embarrassed Palaniswami had to personally intervene and end the fight as hundreds watched at the function to mark the birth centenary of party founder MG Ramachandran.

The spat was triggered when Housing and Urban Development Minister Udumalai Radhakrishnan and Deputy Speaker Pollachi Jayaraman proceeded to occupy the chair next to the CM.

An heated argument ensued and the Chief Minister was forced to intervene and separate the two. He asked Pollachi Jayaraman to sit on a different chair. He complied, but both leaders could still be seen yelling at each other. Supporters of both in the crowd also started shouting and finally, Speaker Dhanapal was forced to intervene and calm everyone down.

The event also raised eyebrows over the use of the party’s ‘two leaves’ symbol, which was frozen by the Election Commission after the Palaniswami vs Panneerselvam split in March.