Expelled AIADMK leader Sasikala unveils plaque calling her general secretary of party
AIADMK leaders have dismissed the possibility of allowing her back into the party.
Expelled leader of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, VK Sasikala, on Sunday hoisted a flag of the party and unveiled a plaque at the memorial of the outfit’s founder MG Ramachandran in Chennai, The News Minute reported.
In what is being seen as Sasikala’s attempt to regain control of the party, the plaque called her the general secretary of the AIADMK.
Sasikala, an aide of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister late J Jayalalithaa, had been removed as general secretary and expelled from the party in 2017. The move came after she was convicted in a disproportionate assets case in February that year.
There has been speculation about Sasikala entering politics again, once she was released from jail in January this year after serving a four-year sentence in the case. In February, she had moved a Chennai court challenging her removal as AIADMK’s general secretary.
On Sunday, Sasikala unfurled the AIADMK’s flag and unveiled the plaque to mark the beginning of the year-long celebration of the golden jubilee year. A day earlier, she had paid tributes at the memorial of Jayalalithaa at Marina Beach in Chennai.
Chennai | Expelled AIADMK leader VK Sasikala hoists AIADMK flag and distributes sweets outside MGR memorial at T-Nagar on the party's 50th anniversary pic.twitter.com/y1CtX1AoEy
— ANI (@ANI) October 17, 2021
At an event held at the memorial of Ramachandran on Sunday, Sasikala told her supporters: “All of you here know the reason why I stood aside during the [Assembly] elections [held earlier this year]. No harm should come to the party because of me. The divisions among us has helped our enemies. At this juncture, unity is important.”
Meanwhile, leaders of the AIADMK dismissed any possibility of allowing Sasikala back in the party, the Hindustan Times reported.
Senior leader D Jayakumar said that Sasikala had made no sacrifice for the party and described her supporters as “looters”.
“The party is united against her and she was eased out of the AIADMK years ago,” Jayakumar said, according to the Hindustan Times.
He added that the AIADMK would take legal action Sasikala for hoisting the party flag and calling herself its general secretary. Jayakumar alleged that Sasikala had violated court orders and the Election Commission’s rules by doing so.