TTV Dinakaran stakes Sasikala's claim over AIADMK; says 'she's General Secy; can use flag'

Former Jayalalithaa aide VK Sasikala's nephew TTV Dinakaran defended the use of the AIADMK flag on the car that received his aunt from Victoria hospital in Bengaluru on Sunday, citing that she was still the general secretary of the party and that the matter was sub-judice. VK Sasikala was discharged from the hospital in Bengaluru where she was being treated for COVID-19 following her release on Thursday. Speaking to the press after Sasikala's discharge, AMMK leader TTV Dinakaran expressed happiness in the release of his aunt after completing her sentence in the disproportionate assets case. 

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Defending the use of the AIADMK flag on Sasikala's car, TTV Dinakaran claimed that the former Jayalalithaa aide was unanimously nominated as the party's general secretary in December 2016 and that this was their stance as the matter was being heard in the court. Further, Sasikala's nephew pointed out that she had all the rights to make political decisions and that it was the stance of AMMK. Providing an update on Sasikala's health, TTV Dinakaran informed that she was to be in isolation for the next week following which decisions will be taken on the future course of actions. 

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AIADMK slams Sasikala for using party flag

Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar slammed VK Sasikala for using the AIADMK party flag on her car while she was discharged from Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru on Sunday after being released from prison two days earlier. Sasikala was picked up in a car that is said to have been used by former Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa and was seen bearing the AIADMK party flag in the front. AIADMK neta D Jayakumar questioned how Sasikala could use the party's flag when she was not even a primary member of the outfit. 

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It is pertinent to point out that Sasikala was expelled from the party soon after her conviction in the disproportionate assets case following which her return to the party-fold has also been ruled out on numerous occasions. Two AIADMK functionaries were expelled from the party recently for welcoming back Sasikala from prison, indicating the ruling government's no-compromise attitude towards the former Jaya aide. Sasikala's return to Tamil Nadu is yet to be charted out and is likely to be decided by her family, as per inputs. Meanwhile, the expelled AIADMK leader is set to stay in Bengaluru after being discharged from the hospital. 

Sasikala and the Disproportionate Assets case

Sasikala was lodged in jail since February 2017 when the Supreme Court upheld her conviction by a special court in Bengaluru in a disproportionate assets case and sentenced her to four years imprisonment. Sasikala, who took over the reins of AIADMK after the death of Jayalalithaa in December 2016, was later removed from the party by then-Chief Minister K Palaniswami-led camp. Her relatives Ilavarasi and V N Sudhakaran are also serving a four-year jail term in the case.

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