Sasikala may be sacked at party general council meet on September 12

Chennai: V K Sasikala is likely to be removed from the post of interim General Secretary of the AIADMK at the General Council meeting in Chennai on September 12.

At its meeting on Monday, the EPS-OPS camp also passed a resolution declaring appointments and expulsions made by TTV Dhinakaran as “null and void”.

An official announcement from the AIADMK headquarters on the General Council meeting came hours after a meeting of the office-bearers held under party coordinator O Panneerselvam and joint coordinator Edappadi K Palanisamy, resolved to further distance the party from the family by passing four resolutions.

“Executive Council and General Council of the AIADMK will be held on September 12 at 10.35 am at Sri Varu Venkatachalapathy Palace Thirumana Mandapam in Vanagaram under the chairmanship of Presidium Chairman E Madhusudhanan.

Members of the Executive and General Council have been requested to attend the meeting along with their invitation,” a press release from AIADMK said.

The release, which said it “was being issued with the approval of office-bearers” of the AIADMK, came after the meeting resolved that the Executive and General Council of the party will be convened soon.   

Highly placed sources in the AIADMK told Deccan Chronicle that a resolution removing Sasikala from the post of general secretary would be moved at the meeting.

“Removing Sasikala from her post is one of the major pre-conditions for the merger of rival factions of the AIADMK and it is imperative that the condition is met. So, the general council is being convened to formally ratify the decision that has already been taken,” a senior party leader said.

However, sources were tight-lipped on whether the council meet would elect new general secretary.

Interestingly, legislators did not find a place in the list of people who constitute the General Council.

As a first step to removing Sasikala from her post, the office-bearers meeting reiterated appointments and expulsions made by Dhinakaran as “null and void” citing the August 10 decision that made his position as deputy general secretary “untenable” since the Election Commission has not ratified the appointment of Sasikala as General Secretary.

The meeting at the AIADMK headquarters brought to the fore deep divisions within the AIADMK as more than 40 MLAs failed to turn up, which was a clear indication that many are “sitting on the wall.”

When questioned about the absence of several MLAs, a senior minister said 22 legislators among them are camping at a resort in Puducherry and others might be “unwell”.

Dhinakaran had no authority or qualification to remove those appointed by late AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa from party posts and his announcements in this regard are not binding on party cadre.

Dhinakaran's appointment as deputy general secretary is not valid according to party bye-laws,” a resolution adopted at the meeting said.

The resolution assumes significance in the wake of Dhinakaran sacking Chief Minister and his ministerial colleagues from their party posts.

Monday's meeting also decided to initiate legal steps to ensure that party-backed media “Namadhu Dr MGR” and “Jaya TV” “continued to hail” Jayalalithaa, seen as an attempt to wrest control of them from the Dhinakaran camp.