Sasikala belongs to AMMK not AIADMK: Ex-minister

Senior AIADMK leader C Ponnaiyan on Saturday said that former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa's aide Sasikala is not a member of his party as she belongs to TTV Dhinakaran's Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam. After the demise of Jayalalithaa in December 2016, Sasikala was elected General Secretary of the AIADMK before she was removed from the post.

Chennai: AIADMK leader C Ponnaiyan on Saturday claimed that former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa's aide Sasikala is not a member of his party as she belongs to TTV Dhinakaran's Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK). He added that Sasikala does not have the right to revive the AIADMK.

"Sasikala is not a member of our party. She belongs to TTV Dhinakaran's group. She has no locus stand to say that she is going to revive AIADMK. Whoever is talking to Sasikala, they do not belong to AIADMK," Ponnaiyan said. This comes days after the purported audio leak of a phone conversation between expelled AIADMK leader Sasikala and one of the party cadres in which she is heard talking about returning to politics.

On May 30, Sasikala had dropped enough hints of returning to active politics after the COVID-19 pandemic got over. In an audio clip of a phone conversation between Sasikala and one of the party cadres, which has gone viral on social media, the leader was heard confirming the plans of her return into politics. The AIADMK lost power to the DMK in the elections held in April. The phone call has been verified by Janarthanan, the personal assistant for AMMK General Secretary TTV Dinakaran.

"Do not worry, I will surely sort out the party things. All be brave ok. Once the corona pandemic ends, I will come," Sasikala was heard telling the cadre during the phone call. "We will be behind you Amma," the cadre was heard replying to her. Earlier in March, the Expelled AIADMK leader had announced her retirement from politics.

In her statement she said "I set myself apart from politics and pray for the golden rule of my Goddess Akka (Jayalalithaa). I will continue to pray for her vision always." Sasikala has been staying in Chennai's T Nagar area after returning to the city in February following the completion of her four-year prison sentence in a disproportionate assets case.

After the demise of Jayalalithaa in December 2016, Sasikala was elected General Secretary of the AIADMK. She had handed over the control of the party to nephew TTV Dhinakaran after being convicted in the disproportionate assets case in February 2017. Edappadi Palaniswami was made Chief Minister with her backing but Sasikala was removed after a rival faction led by O Panneerselvam, who had rebelled against Sasikala merged with the Palaniswami faction. Both Sasikala and Dhinakaran were removed in September 2017.

(ANI)