Will act if you attend TN CM's meet, Dinakaran threatens AIADMK members

Party likely to take measures to remove Sasikala during the general council meeting

AIADMK Deputy General Secretary T T V Dinakaran on Friday asked its party members to abstain from the September 12 meetings called by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edapaddi Palaniswami and Deputy CM O Panneerselvam, following the merger of the two factions announced earlier last month.

In its general council meeting, party members under the leadership Palaniswami and Panneerselvam are expected to remove the party’s general secretary, V K Sasiskala, from AIADMK.

Dinakaran, who is Sasikala’s nephew, became the AIADMK deputy general secretary after the Jayalalithaa aide was convicted in a disproportionate asset case last year.    

Calling the general council meeting illegal, Dinakaran pointed out party rules that make prior consent of party members mandatory for convening such a meeting. According to the party’s norms, the consent of at least one-fifth of the total number of party members is required for the AIADMK general secretary, which in this case is Sasikala, to call for such a meeting.

Banking on such provisions, Dinakaran has urged party members to abstain from the meeting, while threatening strong action against those who attend the same on September 12. 

Deputy CM Panneerselvam, who became the chief minister of the state for a brief period after the death of AIADMK’s iconic leader J Jayalalithaa, resigned from his post in February, last year citing ‘personal reasons’. The AIADMK senior leader had subsequently made a comeback by rebelling against Sasikala, and demanding her ouster from the party. Voices were also raised for the removal of Sasikala’s family members from the AIADMK-fold.