TTV Dinakaran holds out olive branch to O Panneerselvam

CHENNAI: Declaring that the DMK is the sole rival for the AIADMK, party’s new deputy general secretary T.T.V. Dinakaran on Thursday invited all AIADMK leaders including former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam who split from the party. Dinakaran, who took over as the deputy general secretary following his appointment to the post by general secretary V.K. Sasikala on February 14, had been credited with introducing Panneerselvam to Jayalalithaa when the former was Periyakulam MP.

In a interview to a Tamil bi-weekly after Panneerselvam started opposing Sasikala vehemently, he referred to Dinakaran as ‘MP sir’ and gratefully recalled the incident of Dinakaran introducing him to Jayalalithaa. In his first media briefing, Dinakaran said the party’s general secretary had been nominated as per the party’s constitution and she has powers to appoint anyone to any post.

Dinakaran said he had been appointed based on the powers given to Sasikala as the general secretary. Asked if he would contest in RK Nagar bypoll, the former MP said he would be decided by the party. Defending Speaker P. Dhanapal’s action in the Assembly, he said the Speaker went by the rules in the Assembly and he could not be faulted. The DMK planned to create a clash in the Assembly to enable the dissolution of the Assembly.

Accusing DMK working president M.K. Stalin of splitting Panneerselvam from the party, Dinakaran asserted that their dreams would be shattered. Dinakaran said he would not follow family rule in the party and none of his partymen has dominated the party so far. Admitting that he was asked to stay away from the party by former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, Dinakaran said he was made the deputy general secretary since it was required. Asked about the opposition to the AIADMK among the public, he said it was a false propaganda carried out by the DMK.