The removal of the banners indicates Sasikala and her clan loosening the grip over the ruling AIADMK, if not losing complete control of the party.
After the midnight arrest of AIADMK's Amma faction deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran on charges of fixing a deal to bribe Election Commission officials, the banners of his aunt and jailed party general secretary VK Sasikala in the party headquarters were removed on Wednesday morning setting the stage for commencement of the reunion talks between two warring factions.
The removal of the banners indicates Sasikala and her clan loosening the grip over the ruling AIADMK, if not losing complete control of the party. Dinakaran, who was expelled from AIADMK by late Jayalalithaa along with Sasikala and other family members in 2011, was re-inducted into the party with a plum post of party deputy general secretary by his aunt, hours before leaving for Bengaluru to serve the remainder of her sentence in the disproportionate assets case. She handpicked Edappadi K Palaniswamy as the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.
The Panneerselvam camp's 'Presidium Chairman' E Madusudanan had on Tuesday made a demand to "uphold the sanctity" of the party office. "The pulling down of banners (featuring) Sasikala, whom we want to be removed from the party, is the first step in the implementation of that demand. We express our happiness over that," former minister and key Panneerselvam aide KP Munusamy said.
He also said that differences between the "brothers", an apparent reference to the rival factions, will be overcome and talks will be held in a conducive atmosphere.
The ruling AIADMK Amma faction was quick to deny the reports that the banners were removed following the OPS camp request.
"We did not remove the banners because they (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma camp) demanded so. They were removed as per an earlier decision taken by us," Law Minister CV Shanmugam told reporters.
AIADMK Amma faction leader R Vaithilingam, who is heading the seven-member team to hold merger talks, said that the talks will soon begin with the OPS camp expressing its willingness to take part when they contacted them over the phone. However, he denied reports of secret talks. When asked why the delay in starting the talks, he said that both the factions have to consult their leaders before commencing the talks. He also said that they were making "minor" change in the affidavit to be filled in the Election Commission to include the name of Palaniswamy who is also party's headquarter secretary. However, he walked away without replying to the query on whether their faction would provide legal help to Dinakaran.
Lashing out at AIADMK Deputy General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran, Munusamy said he had committed a "big mistake" by allegedly trying to bribe an EC official for retaining the party's Two Leaves symbol, an issue that has landed him in the police net.
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