AIADMK General Council meeting: V K Sasikala has been expelled. (File Photo)
The general council meeting of two factions of AIADMK on Tuesday removed party’s interim general secretary V K Sasikala from the top post, taking the political crisis into the next level at a time when the government doesn’t have the majority. While the general council announced late J Jayalalithaa as the permanent general secretary, paving way to cancel the appointment of Sasikala as the party chief, the powers of general secretary has been handed over to a steering committee consisting a convenor and a joint convenor. A senior leader said O Panneerselvam will be the Chief Coordinator and Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami will be the joint coordinator.
The General Council meeting has also cancelled the appointment of TTV Dinakaran and all the appointments made by him. The meeting ratified a number of changes in bylaws and sub-clauses, handing over all the powers of General Secretary to the coordination and joint coordinator, who are Panneerselvam and CM Palaniswami. Reacting to the decisions taken at the general council meeting, Dinakaran said the time has come to topple this government. “Its time, this government has to go,” he said, speaking to media at Madurai immediately after the ruling faction removed Sasikala and Dinakaran from party posts.
“I am repeating, only the General Secretary can call a GC meeting. Whatever happened at a marriage hall at Vanagaram today was not a General Council meeting but a mere meeting. This government has to fall,” said Dinakaran, adding that if the government falls, all of them supporting CM Palaniswami will join him.
