Palaniswami owes apology to Sasikala, Paneerselvam and me for betraying us: Dhinakaran

Chennai: Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam chief TTV Dhinakaran on Saturday said AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) owes an apology to him, his aunt V K Sasikala and former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam (OPS) for betraying them.

Speaking to reporters after paying tribute here to former Chief Minister K Kamaraj on his birth anniversary, Dhinakaran, without naming Palaniswami or his supporters, said they betrayed him, Sasikala and Panneerselvam.

The AMMK chief, who was formerly with the AIADMK years ago, also accused EPS of "commiting wrongs" against the trio. Dhinakaran, however, did not explicitly refer to Palaniswami. The AMMK leader was answering a question on a comment by AIADMK leader D Jayakumar that barring Sasikala, Dhinakaran and Panneerselvam, all other dismissed party workers/functionaries were welcome to rejoin the party after submitting letters of apology.

Days ago, just after Panneerselvam announced a state-wide protest on August 1 to urge the government to expedite the investigation into the Kodanad heist-cum-murder case, Palaniswami issued a statement saying those who were expelled from the AIADMK could rejoin the party after tendering an apology, acknowledging their mistakes.

On OPS' proposed protest, Dhinakaran said the AMMK supported it. Panneerselvam may be aware of "several truths" and could have thought that the DMK regime would unearth it, he said. After OPS announced the stir, AIADMK slammed him that day again labelling him DMK's B-team.

The Kodanad crime took place in April 2017 during the AIADMK rule (2016-21). Sasikala, confidante of the late party supremo J Jayalalithaa, briefly held the post of party interim general secretary. She was jailed in February 2017 in a disproportionate assets case and released from prison in January 2021 after completing her four-year sentence.

Jayalalithaa passed away in December 2016 and Sasikala, along with her nephew Dhinakaran, were eased out of the party in September 2017 after Palaniswami and Panneerselvam joined hands. In 2018, Dhinakaran launched his own political outfit Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam and he is the party's general secretary.

In July 2022, Panneerselvam was expelled from the AIADMK. Palaniswami is the party chief now, elected as general secretary in March 2023. Following the change in circumstances, Sasikala, Dhinakaran and Panneerselvam appear to be on the same side now. However, they have not formally joined forces. Sasikala and Panneerselvam continue to maintain their claims over the AIADMK leadership.