The rift in the Mannargudi clan has widened as Dhivaharan announced that he has disowned VK Sasikala as his sister. The move follows Sasikala's legal notice to Dhivaharan, restraining him from using her name or portrait to further his political ambition .
Speaking to reporters in Mannargudi, Tamil Nadu, he said, “What Sasikala did was blackmail politics. TTV Dinakaran is trying to avenge Sasikala through me.”
He also accused Dinakaran of being responsible for creating a rift between Sasikala and OPS.
“My political journey will not end because she sent me a notice,” he added.
Ousted AIADMK leader VK Sasikala had issued a 14-page legal notice, a few days back, to her brother who had floated a political party, ‘Amma Ani’.
On 9 May, Sasikala’s lawyer N Raja Senthoor Pandian said Sasikala had ‘great affection’ for her brother, but was taking this step with a "heavy heart" because of Dhivaharan’s ‘present contradictory behaviour.’
Sasikala had warned of legal action if he did not stop resorting to actions which are “in support of those who backstabbed her and tried to undermine her authority in the party” (ie Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy CM O Panneerselvam).
The notice also drove home the point that TTV Dhinakaran was Sasikala’s political heir.
It read that TTV Dhinakaran’s party — Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) — was formed with her consent and blessings. Sasikala asked Dhivaharan to stop misrepresenting facts to the media. She clarified that she had appointed TTV Dhinakaran as AIADMK deputy general secretary when she was jailed.
She added that she is still the general secretary of AIADMK and the AMMK was formed as a “temporary measure” till the AIADMK and the party flag were retrieved from “backstabbers”.
Dhivaharan and TTV Dhinakaran have been at loggerheads of late. In April, Dhivaharan said he will “redeem AIADMK which was murdered by TTV Dhinakaran.”
From day one, I have supported only Palaniswami. Only because of Dhinakaran’s entry into AIADMK, Sasikala is undergoing imprisonment now. Dhinakaran had committed a blunder by launching the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leaving aside the AIADMK.Dhivaharan, Sasikala’s brother, The New Indian Express
.jpg?rect=0%2C0%2C1920%2C1080&auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
The notice also talked of Sasikala’s association with former chief minister J Jayalalithaa, whom she took care of as a ‘sister, mother and shadow’ for 34 years until her death on 5 December 2016.
She even talked about ‘politics of betrayal’ after Jayalalithaa’s death — an obvious reference to Panneerselvam's defection from the party.
Panneerselvam had claimed that he was coerced into resigning from the post of chief minister and that there were a lot of skeletons in the Sasikala clan’s closet that were yet to be discovered. A few days later, he merged with the faction led by CM Edappadi Palaniswami.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)