T T V Dhinakaran | Express 
Tamil Nadu

TTV Dhinakaran removes Udhayakumar as secretary of AIADMK forum

He also removed V V Rajan Chennappa, MLA, as party Madurai urban secretary.

From our online archive

CHENNAI: Sidelined AIADMK deputy general secretary T T V Dhinakaran today removed Revenue Minister R B Udhayakumar as the secretary of a party forum named after late Jayalalithaa.

He replaced Udhayakumar with MLA S Mariappan Kennedy, a loyalist.

He also removed V V Rajan Chennappa, MLA, as party Madurai urban secretary, a statement said.

Dhinakaran, nephew of V K Sasikala, also appointed some of his supporters to various party posts, two days after the merger of the two factions led by Palaniswami and rebel leader O Panneerselvam, a former chief minister.

Dhinakaran had dubbed the merger as a "betrayal" of party general secretary Sasikala.

He had yesterday 'sacked' senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP R Vaithilingam from the party.

The move came a day after Vaithilingam, a Palaniswami loyalist, said steps would be taken for the removal of Sasikala from the AIADMK.

MLAs loyal to Dhinakaran had told Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao they have lost confidence in Chief Minister EK Palaniswami.

The MLAs are currently camping at a resort in neighbouring Puducherry.

The main opposition DMK has demanded a floor test in view of the rebellion in the AIADMK.

Nepal ready for diplomatic dialogue with India to resolve border dispute, says Foreign Minister Khanal

Sharad Pawar opens parallel talks with Congress on NCP (SP) merger, BJP on NDA entry

From India's furnace to Europe's inferno: The science behind extreme heat

India urges Pakistan to free 188 prisoners; seeks consular access to 13 Indians

TMC's Mahua Moitra alleges BJP workers hurled eggs at her in West Bengal's Nadia

SCROLL FOR NEXT