AIADMK sacks Sasikala as interim general secretary, abolishes post

Chennai, Sept. 12 (PTI): The unified AIADMK on Tuesday resolved to annul the appointment of V.K. Sasikala as the party's interim general secretary, party sources said.

It said the party will not accept anyone other than its founder, the late M.G. Ramachandran, and the late chief minister J. Jayalalithaa as general secretary.

Sasikala had made a bid for power after her mentor Jaya died on December 5 last year. She first took over as general secretary of Jaya’s All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

Then she tried to oust O.P. Panneerselvam from the chief minister’s post. Panneerselvam, a Jaya loyalist, had been sworn in as chief minister within an hour of Jaya’s death.

But Sasikala had to go to jail in an old corruption case in which she had been convicted.

On Tuesday, a meeting of the general council, the apex decision-making body, and the executive committee passed a resolution to cancel Sasikala's appointment, sources said.

The meeting also resolved to amend the party's by-laws, indicating that there would be no general secretary in the future.

Party affairs would now be managed by a steering committee, as announced during the merger of the factions led by Chief Minister K. Palaniswami and his Deputy Panneerselvam on August 21.

Tuesday's meeting was the first since the merger of the two factions.