A Chennai civil court on Monday dismissed former interim general secretary of the AIADMK V.K. Sasikala’s claim over the party.
After the death of former Chief Minister and party general secretary Jayalalithaa on December 05, 2016, her close associate Ms. Sasikala was appointed the interim general secretary on December 29 at a party general council meeting.
However, she was lodged at the special prison in Parappana Agrahara after the Supreme Court upheld her punishment in the disproportionate assets case. O. Panneerselvam, former Deputy Chief Minister, who staged a rebellion, merged his faction with the AIADMK led by Edappadi K. Palaniswami.
The party general council meeting was conducted on September 12, 2017 and resolutions were adopted, including the rescission of Ms. Sasikala’s appointment as interim general secretary and the appointment of Mr. Panneerselvam as coordinator and Mr. Palaniswami as co-coordinator.
Under such circumstances, Ms. Sasikala filed a civil suit in the city civil court challenging her ouster from the party.
She said illustratively, the participants in the meeting dated September 12, 2017 in a most shocking and blatant move had designs to erode the very structure of the AIADMK. The post of the general secretary had been abolished and replaced by posts of coordinator and co-coordinator even though there was no provision at all in the party’s rules and regulations.
The defendants, including Mr. Palaniswami and Mr. Panneerselvam, submitted that they enjoyed the support of majority of members, both in the organisational and legislature wing of the AIADMK, and added that they were the real AIADMK.
Their counsel Narmada Sampath said the plaintiff [Ms. Sasikala] was removed from the post of interim general secretary, and therefore, there was no locus standi for her to maintain the suit in relation to the affairs of the party. City civil court Judge J. Sridevi dismissed Ms. Sasikala’s suit.
Meanwhile, the party cadre greeted Mr. Panneerselvam and Mr. Palaniswami on Monday when they visited the party office. They also distributed sweets and burst crackers.
