Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran on Saturday said that his and his aunt V.K. Sasikala’s aim were the same — to retrieve the AIADMK. However, he said he believed in retrieving the AIADMK through democratic means by winning elections.
Replying to a query during a press conference in Chennai as to whether he has the support of Ms. Sasikala, Mr. Dhinakaran said: “You are aware if I have Chinnamma’s [Sasikala’s] support. She is my aunt [Chithi] first and then comes politics. Our aim has been the same.”
He said the need for such a query on whether he had her support did not arise at all. “Everyone knows we have her support. My point is that there is no need for her statement to prove it.”
When asked why Ms. Sasikala has not publicly mentioned the AMMK at all, Mr. Dhinakaran said: “She is AIADMK's general secretary [the AIADMK has officially abolished the post of general secretary] and has been using the AIADMK flag. Then, how will she speak. Can I tell her to hold the AMMK flag or can she tell me to hold the AIADMK flag? My route is different than hers but our destination is the same.”
Though both their aims were the same, he had a different approach, he said. “As I said we will retrieve [the AIADMK] through democratic means. I have already said we are waiting for the next elections.”
To a query on the statement made by AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam that the party would decide on whether to allow Ms. Sasikala back into the party, Mr. Dhinakaran welcomed it. “Mr. OPS is someone who is generally composed and thinks before making a statement,” he said.
