Merger won't save EPS govt: Dhivakaran
He also asserted that only the general secretary had the powers to convene the general council of the party.
Chennai: AIADMK general secretary V.K. Sasikala's younger brother Dhivakaran on Monday said the merger of the factions headed by Chief Minister K. Edappadi K. Palaniswami and former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam would not save the government.
He also asserted that only the general secretary had the powers to convene the general council of the party. Reacting to the merger in an interview to a Tamil news channel, he said "There is no guarantee that this government will last.
After their declaration that they would remove Sasikala from general secretary post, anything could happen any time. MLAs are calling me one by one and expressing their opposition to the planned ouster of Sasikala", he said.
Dhivakaran also said all the 122 MLAs who voted for the Palaniswami government in the confidence motion were not present in the AIADMK headquarters during the merger. He said the merger was aimed at saving the posts of few people and asserted that only the general secretary could convene the general council.
A total of 18 MLAs attended the consultations in AIADMK (Amma) deputy general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran. The number of legislators supporting him would be known at his meeting to be held on August 23 at RK Nagar. The number of MLAs with Dhivakaran is not known.
With RK Nagar seat remaining vacant, the present strength of the Assembly is 233. The AIADMK has 135 members in the Assembly and it requires 117 members for a majority.