AIADMK makes light of Dhinakaran launching party

Ruling AIADMK today made light of sidelined leader TTV Dhinakaran launching a party, saying his exit only fulfilled the "last wish" of late chief minister and party supremo Jayalalithaa.

"...there is joy as the last wish of Kaviya Thalaivi (epoch making leader Jayalalithaa) has been fulfilled today. Yes a....group has exited," AIADMK's mouthpiece "Namadhu Amma" said referring to Dhinakaran floating his own outfit.

Meanwhile, reacting to Dhinakaran's vow to "retrieve the AIADMK," senior leader and Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar likened the dissident leader to a "mosquito," that sat on a "lion," which is the ruling party.

"And the mosquito has now gone away and every body is happy with Amma's regime which has been governing Tamil Nadu well," he told reporters

By mentioning "last wish", the party's mouthpiece apparently said it was the wish of "Amma" (Jayalalithaa) that Dhinakaran should exit the party since his expulsion in 2011 was not revoked by her till her demise in December 2016.

In December 2011, Jayalalithaa had expelled her long-time close aide V K Sasikala and her relatives, including Dhinakaran, from the AIADMK.

Though the expulsion of Sasikala was subsequently revoked, Dhinakaran and others were not brought back into the party.

After Jayalalithaa's demise, Sasikala brought back Dhinakaran, her nephew, into the party ahead of her incarceration in the disproportionate assets case in February 2017 and appointed him the deputy general secretary to guide the party in her absence.

However, Panneerselvam revolted against Sasikala and later Palaniswami-led group distanced itself from the family.

After the merger of the two groups, a meeting of the AIADMK general council held in September last year had annulled the appointment Sasiakala as interim general secretary in the immediate aftermath of Jayalalithaa's death.

It had also declared as invalid all appointments, including that of Dhinakaran, made by Sasikala.

Contending that the council meeting was illegal as it was not convened by the general secretary, Dhinakaran had been claiming that their's was the official party.

However, he lost the case for the party's symbol and name before the Election Commission last year with the poll body allotting them to unified group led by Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam.

The AIADMK's mouthpiece today said those who had gone out of the party to launch new outfits had disappeared from the political horizon and Dhinakaran knew it clearly.

It has been the stand of AIADMK leadership including coordinator Panneerselvam and co-coordinator Palaniswami that Sasikala and her family members could not be accepted into the party.

Dhinakaran launched the party, the "Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam", named after Jayalalithaa, near Madurai, saying it would function in the name of "Amma" and would capture power in the state.

Referring to Dhinakaran's stand that a new party was only a makeshift arrangement till such time "AIADMK is retrieved from betrayers," the official Tamil daily of the ruling regime ridiculed him saying he has come forward to admit that his initiative was not permanent.

"Betrayers," is a term often used by Dhinakaran and his followers to refer to the ruling regime's leaders.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)