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.

Trump speech: When endgame talks meet mid game reality

Stock markets decline 2% in early trade amid rising West Asia tensions, surge in crude prices

India exempts critical petrochemical products from customs duty amid West Asia crisis

UDF releases Kerala poll manifesto, promises free bus travel for women

13-year-old girl allegedly killed in ritual sacrifice in Jharkhand; mother among three arrested

SCROLL FOR NEXT