Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran’s attempt to usurp former AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa’s legacy and claim to being her political heir is only with the idea of capturing power, Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani said here on Sunday.
“Mr. Dhinakaran is not Jayalalithaa’s political heir. It is the one-and-half crore cadre of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. By claiming to be her political heir, he is trying to mislead the party cadre, which will fail,” he said.
Mr. Dhinakaran was not be seen anywhere at Jayalalithaa’s funeral, while all his relatives were there. Even when Ms. Jayalalithaa was at the helm of affairs, she had sidelined him for around 10 years, while Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, other leaders and he were part of her Cabinet.
In fact, Jayalalithaa did not allow him into her house and had also asked Mr. Dhinakaran to keep away from Parliament, Mr. Velumani pointed out and asked where was Mr. Dhinakaran during those 10 years.
Mr. Dhinakaran, after becoming an MLA was working with a tacit understanding with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which Jayalalithaa was politically opposed to.
“If you see, he [Mr. Dhinakaran] doesn’t criticise the DMK. And, when he attempts to speak in the Assembly, he gets support from DMK MLAs, a few of whom even stand and support him.”
He alleged that Mr. Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam had paid money to people to mobilise crowd for a public meeting the organisation had held in Coimbatore on July 8. “Every meeting, you see, you will see the same face. By paying ₹500 – ₹ 1,000, the AMMK cadre had transported migrant workers. And, no AIADMK cadre participated in the meeting.”
