Sasikala, Dhinakaran must resign for merger talks to begin: OPS

Chennai: O Panneerselvam’s faction of the AIADMK on Thursday informed the VK Sasikala faction that the former chief minister wants AIADMK (Amma) general secretary and deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran to resign as precursor in order to begin merger talks.

According to a report in NDTV, Panneerselvam’s faction AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) has also asked the AIADMK (Amma) to inform the Election Commission that Sasikala and her nephew Dhinakaran are not the heads of the party anymore.

“We demand affidavit submitted by Sasikala camp to EC stating Sasikala and Dhinakaran are holding party-position must be taken back,” ANI quoted Munusamy as saying.

“Tamil Nadu govt must initiate and recommend CBI probe into the mysterious death of late CM J Jayalalitha, this is our second demand. If they accept these demands only then there will be talks,” he said.

The Panneerselvam or OPS faction fear that Dhinakaran’s statement that he has “stepped aside” was just a drama, KP Munuswamy, a former minister, said. The family might remain in the party even after Dhinakaran has left, with Sasikala’s husband and other nephews joining the party later, he added.

It has also demanded that Chief Minister E Palaniswamy recommend a CBI probe into former chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s death in December last year.

Responding to OPS faction's demands, AIADMK (Amma), which is now being headed by Palaniswamy, said it is ready for talks and has no conditions. "We impose no conditions. We are ready to hold talks with OPS faction on merger. Let's all work together to retrieve the Two-Leaf symbol," it said.

The talks of merger began after an FIR was registered against Dhinakaran for allegedly offering bribe to an Election Commission official for the ownership of the 'Two Leaves' symbol.

Dhinakaran's alleged middleman, Sukesh Chandrasekhar, was arrested from Hyatt hotel in Delhi on Sunday night, and Rs 1.3 crore was recovered from him. Around Rs 50 crores were to be paid as bribe.

Since the talks began between the two factions, Panneerselvam has been demanding that Sasikala and Dhinakaran quit the party.