Dhivaharan said Dhinakaran launched the AMMK without consulting anyone in the party.
A war of words has erupted in VK Sasikala's Mannargudi family with her brother VK Dhivaharan hitting out at her nephew TTV Dhinakaran, who launched Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), over the latter's supporter P Vetrivel accusing him of holding talks with the ruling AIADMK.
Dhivaharan said Dhinakaran launched the AMMK without consulting anyone in the party. "Dhinakaran has launched this party only for the benefit of his family members. To force us out, they (TTV camp) are spreading rumours that we are returning to AIADMK. We will not do that and will function separately as Amma faction," he told reporters late on Tuesday.
Vetrivel, one of the 18 disqualified MLAs in Dhinakaran camp, accused Dhivaharan of holding talks with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami to return to AIADMK. He was responding to Dhivaharan's son Jeyanand's recent Facebook post issuing a veiled threat to AMMK without naming it.
Vetrivel's charge assumes significance as the Palaniswami government's fate hinges on the Madras High Court ruling on the petition challenging the disqualification of the 18 MLAs. If the disqualification is set aside, the AIADMK government will have to prove its majority on the floor of the House for which it does not have the required number of legislators.
Dhinakaran, however, brushed aside Dhivaharan's statement saying he treats the party and the family separately. "I give due respects to my family members, but cannot surrender to them. Moreover, I never discussed party matters with Dhivaharan," he said.
Senior AIADMK leader and fisheries minister D Jayakumar dismissed Vetrivel's claim of Dhivaharan holding talks with the AIADMK as nothing but a rumour.
Political observers term the ongoing spat in the Sasikala family as a power struggle. They feel that Dhivaharan, after the demise of Sasikala's husband Natarajan, finds himself isolated in the scheme of things, with Dhinakaran taking full control of the newly-launched political party AMMK.
Sasikala's family, famously known as Mannargudi clan, stayed away from active politics till Jayalalithaa was alive. After her demise, the Mannargudi family returned to politics and initially took control of the AIADMK, only to be sidelined by Edappadi K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam combined. With Sasikala serving her prison term in the corruption case, Dhinakaran has emerged as the political face of the family, while Dhivaharan and his son remaining on the sidelines.
POWER PLAY
- Sasikala’s family, aka Mannargudi clan, stayed away from active politics till Jayalalithaa was alive. They took control of AIADMK, only after her demise.
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