T.T.V. Dhinakaran, along with his family members, visited the central prison at Parappana Agrahara on Friday to meet V.K. Sasikala, who is imprisoned there in the disproportionate assets case.
Prison sources told The Hindu that the visitors were given a time slot of one hour (between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m). Though the visit of the family members coincides with Sasikala’s birthday, Mr. Dhinakaran is reported to have used the occasion to brief the jailed interim general secretary of the AIADMK about the recent political developments involving the two warring factions of the party. Later, speaking to reporters, Mr. Dhinakaran said the decision of the Edappadi K. Palaniswami government to order a probe into the circumstances that led to the death of former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaa and convert her Poes Garden residence into a memorial was not a setback to him.
When quizzed whether the developments will expedite the merger of the two camps, one led by former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam and the other by Mr. Palaniswami, he said: “In 1989, after MGR’s demise, our leader united the party in the interest of the cadre. Now, it is not in the interest of the cadre. This will not last.”
“Jayalalithaa memorial was a hasty decision, I too have the support of the cadre and I’ll show my strength at the appropriate time,” he said.