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The faction led by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam has welcomed banners of VK Sasikala and TTV Dhinakaran being taken down at the ruling AIADMK’s headquarters here, while maintaining that there was no change in its demand for a CBI probe into the circumstances surrounding the death of former party supremo J Jayalalithaa.
“If all members of Sasikala’s family are removed from the party, it will be good. We will start talks when we feel it will be successful,” KP Munusamy, a senior leader in Paneerselvam-led AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) faction said, responding to speculation that the two camps would hold merger talks on Wednesday.
“We are waiting for a favourable environment for any talk on merger between two factions,” he said.
Munswamy said the removal of the banners of AIADMK General Secretary and her nephew and deputy Dhinakaran was a pre-condition for merger talks.
“If similar measures are undertaken, it could pave way for a possible talks,” he told newspersons. “We are all brothers of the same family.”
State Law Minister CV Shanmugam, of the rival camp led by Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami, told newspersons at his residence that the removal of Sasikala’s banners had been planned earlier.
Munusamy said Dhinakaran had made a major mistake by trying to forcibly gain control of the party after death of Jayalalithaa. This kind of a situation did not happen even after death of party founder MG Ramachandran, he said. Both AIADMK camps have been blowing hot and cold on the possibility of merger between the two camps. The power struggle between Panneerselvam and Sasikala who took over as General Secretary of the party after the death of J Jayalalithaa, the previous general secretary and former chief minister, had led to the split.
However, with Sasikala under going a four-year jail term in a disproportionate assets case and second-in-command TTV Dhinakaran being arrested by the Delhi Police on Tuesday as part of an ongoing investigation into a case of bribery, the larger faction, now led by Palaniswami, is in a difficult situation.
Dhinakaran was arrested following allegations of attempting to bribe the Election Commission through a middleman to get the AIADMK’s ‘two leaves’ symbol for his faction. The EC had frozen the party name and symbol following the split when both factions laid claim to the party name ahead of a bypoll.
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