Sasikala reinducts 2 family members sacked by Jayalalithaa - Know about TTV Dinakaran and S Venkatesh

TTV Dinkaran and S Venkatesh were expelled by late chief minister Jayalalithaa in 2011.

File photo

Chennai: A day after the Supreme Court upheld her conviction for corruption along with two relatives and J Jayalalithaa, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary VK Sasikala on Wednesday reinducted her close relatives TTV Dinakaran and S Venkatesh into the party.

Notably, Dinkaran and Venkatesh were expelled by late chief minister Jayalalithaa in 2011.

In a significant move, Sasikala announced that Dinakaran, her nephew and a former Rajya Sabha member, was being appointed as the AIADMK's Deputy General Secretary and urged the cadres to extend their cooperation to him.

In a statement, Sasikala said: “Dinakaran and Venkatesh are allowed to join the party after they expressed regret for their acts in person and through letter and requested that they be allowed to join the party (again)."

In 2011, Jayalalithaa had expelled Dinakaran and Venkatesh, besides Sasikala and her husband M Natarajan, from AIADMK, amidst reports then that they interfered in party and government administration.

Although she withdrew the "disciplinary action" against her close aide, after Sasikala expressed regret, Jayalalithaa had, however, said that the others' expulsion would continue.

Yesterday, Sasikala was convicted in the Rs 66 crore disproportionate assets case, with the Supreme Court upholding a lower court verdict sentencing her to four years' prison term along with two of her relatives.

The SC upheld that Sasikala cannot contest elections for 10 years, including the four years that she spend in jail. She was fined Rs 10 crore.

Dinakaran was part of the 12-member AIADMK team led by its newly-elected Legislature party leader Edappadi K Palaniswami which met the state Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao and staked claim to form government.Edappadi K Palaniswami which met the state Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao and staked claim to form government.

Sasikala had yesterday sacked rebel leaders including Chief Minister O Panneerselvam from the party, but they have questioned her right to do so, contending that she does not have powers to appoint and remove anyone.

(With Agency inputs)