AIADMK meeting starts in Chennai, to take decision on Sasikala expulsion

Tamil Nadu’s ruling AIADMK convened on Monday to take a decision on the ouster of party chief VK Sasikala, whose nephew TTV Dinakaran is leading a rebellion that could potentially unseat the state government.

All MPs, MLAs and office bearers of the AIADMK huddled at the party headquarters in Chennai for the meeting, led by chief minister Edapaddi Palaniswami, days after two factions merged.

But the rebel MLAs threatened violence if Sasikala was ousted. Dinakaran supporter Thanga Tamilselvan said that “there will be violence in the party office if such a resolution was passed”. This group of rebel MLAs has also given the governor a two-day deadline to take a decision on their demand of a trust vote as they had withdrawn support to chief minister Edapaddi Palanisami.

Dinakaran maintained that the “sleeper cells in AIADMK’ will get more active at an appropriate time. His MLAs continued to stay in Puducherry and will remain there for another week.

Dinakaran claims the support of 21 MLAs, which means that the government of Palaniswami will be in a minority in the 234-member assembly. The opposition DMK has urged the governor C Vidyasagar Rao to call for a floor test. A no-confidence motion against the chief minister can be called only by October, as per rules.

Dinakaran has maintained that the “sleeper cells in AIADMK’ will get more active at an appropriate time. His MLAs continued to stay in Puducherry and will remain there for another week.

The opposition DMK, taking steps in tandem with the rebel group, called on the governor in a delegation led by its senior leader Durai Murugan and sought the immediate convening of the assembly for a floor test.

DMK working president MK Stalin, addressing a gathering at Thiruvarur, his father’s constituency, said, “If the governor does not convene a session immediately, the DMK will move the courts for justice. The government has lost legitimacy and has no right to stay in office even for a second.”

Rao has assured the DMK delegation that he would act in the best interests of the Constitution and only after examining all legal aspects of the situation. The DMK delegation spent 15 minutes with him.

Stalin maintained that the AIADMK government would fall on its own. “The DMK has nothing to do with it,” he said, rebuffing allegations that his party was trying to grab power through the backdoor.

Dinakaran has continued his sacking spree and removed several AIADMK leaders from party posts. Prominent among the leaders Dinakaran ousted from party posts are Palanisami as Salem district chief, a position where Jayalalithaa had appointed him. On Saturday, Dinakaran carried out several sackings and appointments to the party posts.

G Venkatachalam, a supporter of the chief minister, said, “Dinakaran did not have the power to remove anyone from anywhere. These appointments were made by Amma and so these would continue.”