The ruling AIADMK faction in Tamil Nadu on Monday made it clear that they are firm on the decision to sideline V K Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dinakaran from the party.
Finance Minister D Jayakumar, who chaired a meeting with the senior ministers at the Secretariat, said that his faction, led by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, have no contacts with both Sasikala and Dinakaran.
"We are very clear. Our April 17th decision to sideline Dinakaran and his relatives still stands. We are very firm in our decision. There is no question of getting that back", Jayakumar said.
He also claimed that his party cadres including senior functionaries did not meet Dinakaran, who was granted bail by a Delhi court when he came to Chennai.
Pointing out that Dinkaran himself stated that he would restrain from the party activities, Jayakumar said: "he (Dinakaran) should stick to his words".
"We are not dependent on them (Sasikala and Dinakaran). We are independently doing our work and there no interference from anyone", he added.
The minister's statement came just a few hours after Dinakaran asserted that he would surely engage in party related works and accused his party senior leaders that there was no improvement in their initiative for merger talks between the two AIADMK groups.
He also said that he would meet his aunt Sasikala, who was lodged in Bengaluru prison and would discuss his next course of political action.
The other AIADMK group led by former chief minister O Panneerselvam still insisting that merger of both factions is possible only if Sasikala and Dinakaran should be officially removed from the party.
Published 05 June 2017, 12:56 IST