It’s fall from grace for jailed AIADMK (Amma) general secretary VK Sasikala as the K Palaniswami Cabinet on Tuesday decided to keep her and her handpicked party deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran out of the party and the Government.
Emerging from a “consultative” meeting chaired by Chief Minister EK Palaniswami, Finance Minister D Jayakumar declared that one family cannot control AIADMK. “We are ousting Sasikala and Mannargudi clan from the AIADMK,” he said.
The Minister claimed that the “unanimous” decision was taken in tune with the aspirations of the party cadre and people.
He claimed it was the desire of all party cadre, top functionaries, district secretaries, MPs, MlAs, and the Ministers.
A committee will be formed soon to run the day-to-day affairs of the party, he said.
Dinakaran, who was expelled from the AIADMK by Jayalalithaa, was reinducted by Sasikala and appointed the party’s deputy general secretary just before she proceeded to Bengaluru to serve her jail term after the Supreme Court upheld her conviction in a disproprtionate assets case in February this year.
Replying to a question, Jayakumar, however, said the decision was not linked to the demand of rebel leader O Panneerselvam that Sasikala and her nephew Dinakaran be kept away as a pre-condition for talks for merger of the rival factions.
Jayakumar, flanked by several Ministers, said still they were prepared to hold talks with Panneerselvam.
Senior Ministers, including Dindigul C Srinivasan, SP Velumani, RB Udayakumar, Thangamani, C Ve Shanmugam Rajya Sabha MP V Vaithilingam, were present in the meeting.
The sudden announcement by Jayakumar came after efforts for the merger hit a hurdle with Panneerselvam insisting on his demand for the ouster of Sasikala, Dinakaran and their family from the party and the Government.
Earlier in the day, O Panneerselvam, former Chief Minister and leader of the AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma), said, “There is no compromise on this demand by us. The AIADMK was launched by MGR as a people’s movement to ensure that there was democracy and no family rule in Tamil Nadu. Jayalalithaa strengthened the party and it became one of the largest mass movements in the country. Troubles started only after the party was hijacked by Sasikala and her family members after the demise of Jayalalithaa. Sasikala’s appointment as general secretary in December 2016 was against all democratic norms. We can have merger of both the factions only after making the party free of family rule.”
Panneerselvam said the AIADMK was facing the biggest crisis in its 45-year history as the police had registered a case against the deputy general secretary on charges of bribing officials Election Commission of India.
“The Sasikala clan has brought disrepute and disgrace to the memories of MGR and Amma (Jayalalityhaa). This could be addressed only with the ouster of Sasikala and her family members,” Panneerselvam had said.
The AIADMK (Amma) faction has taken the offer of merger by Panneerselvam in right spirits. A seven member committee of senior Ministers, which include KA Sengottaiyan, Dindigul Sreenivasan and D Jayakumar has been formed by the Amma faction for formal discussions with Panneerselvam faction.
The Amma faction leaders remained silent over the criminal case filed by Delhi Police against deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran in the election symbol case. No senior leaders have come forward to condemn the move which has surprised political commentators. “This means that Sasikala and Dinakaran have fallen from grace,” said a veteran AIADMK watcher.
What makes the factions to seriously think of merger is the ‘Two-leaves’ symbol of the AIADMK which has been made a part of Tamil culture by late MGR and Jayalalithaa. If the ‘Two leaves’ symbol is lost, then AIADMK may have to begin from the scratch itself, according to leading commentators in Tamil Nadu.