Ruling faction says it will keep Sasikala, Dhinakaran away

The ruling AIADMK faction in Tamil Nadu on Monday made it clear that it is firm on the decision to sideline V K Sasikala and her nephew T T V Dhinakaran.

Finance Minister D Jayakumar, who chaired a meeting of senior ministers at the secretariat, said that the AIADMK (Amma) faction led by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had no contacts with Sasikala and Dhinakaran.

“We are very clear. Our April 17 decision to sideline Dhinakaran and his relatives  stands,” Jayakumar said. He claimed that the party cadres did not meet Dhinakaran when he returned after a Delhi court granted him bail in the Election Commission bribery case.

“We are not dependent on them (Sasikala and Dhinakaran). We are independently doing our work and there is no interference from anyone,” Jayakumar said.

The minister’s statement came just a few hours after Dhinakaran asserted that he would engage in party related works.