Paving the way for a merger with O Panneerselvam’s faction, the ruling AIADMK Amma group on Tuesday night announced that it has decided to keep VK Sasikala and her family members out of the party and the government as per the wish of the people and the party cadre.
“We have taken a unanimous decision to keep out TTV Dinakaran and his family from the party and the government considering the views of the cadres and the public,” senior leader and Finance minister D Jayakumar said after a meeting of ministers, MLAs and MPs held at CM Edapadi K Palaniswami's residence. Sasikala, a close aid of Jayalalithaa for almost 30 years and Dinakaran’s aunt, was the moving force behind Palaniswami’s elevation as CM shortly after she herself was found guilty in a disproportionate assets case. Jayakumar said the decision was a unanimous one.
“No one family can control the party and the government. It is the wish of late chief minister J. Jayalalithaa too,” Jayakumar said, echoing what Panneerselvam had been saying since his revolt at Jayalalithaa’s memorial on February 7. The finance minister also announced a panel to be formed for the party’s day-to-day functioning.
Curiously, he did not once mention Sasikala’s name even once while announcing the ouster of Dinkaran and his family. When asked why, party organising secretary and Rajya Sabha MP R Vaithilingam said that since Sasikala was part of Dinakaran’s family, her name was not mentioned separately.
The move came a day after Dinakaran was booked by the Delhi police on charges of attempting to bribe an Election Commission official to get the party’s original ‘Two leaves’ symbol. After he left for Bengaluru to meet Sasikala in jail, the ruling party’s ministers met late Monday night and welcomed Panneerselvam’s statement favouring unconditional talks.
However, Panneerselvam on Tuesday afternoon reiterated that his faction would hold talks for merger only if Sasikala and her family were ousted from the party and the government, and if his faction’s demands for a probe into Jayalalithaa’s sudden demise were accepted. However, Jayakumar denied that the decision to keep out the Mannargudi clan was taken as per Panneerselvam’s demands. “It was the wish of all the cadres. But we are ready for holding talks with them if they approach us,” he said.
Dinakaran, who returned to Chennai without meeting Sasikala, was also in talks with his supporters, including legislators on Tuesday. The fissure in the Sasikala camp widened when her loyalist and Perambur MLA P Vetrivel, after meeting Dinakaran, questioned the authority of ministers to hold a meeting in the absence of party deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran. “Ministers can meet to hold a cabinet meeting but cannot decide on the party affairs. We want Sasikala to continue as general secretary and Dinakaran as deputy general secretary,” he told reporters after calling on Dinakaran at his residence.
Suggesting a patch-up with the rival AIADMK group led by O Panneerselvam, senior party leader M Thambidurai on Monday said it would be in the party's interest if both factions merged to take Jayalalithaa’s legacy forward.
Ruling out any change of Chief Minister in the state, Thambidurai said people from the opposing faction may be included in the organisation. “I have initiated talks with the Panneerselvam camp. We all want to continue the legacy of late Amma and at the same time want to save the party's symbol of two leaves. So in this largest interest, I think both factions should come together," he said.
The BJP has distanced itself from the factional feud in Tamil Nadu. “As a party, they have accountability to provide a transparent government. They must ensure the development agenda is pursued,” said Muralidhar Rao, BJP general secretary in-charge of Tamil Nadu. He said it was unfortunate to drag BJP into the controversy and that the Election Commission cancelled the RK Nagar assembly bypoll on basis of evidence of financial wrongdoing in the campaign. “Fixing responsibility in RK Nagar (bypoll) is important,” he said.
The BJP is keeping a close eye on developments in Tamil Nadu, one of the states where the party is trying to make inroads as part of its “Coromandel plan”, which targets about 115 seats nationwide that it has never won earlier.
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