New Delhi: Tamil Nadu’s ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Thursday evening filed a police complaint against expelled leader V.K. Sasikala for using the party’s flag in her car on January 31. She used the flag after she was discharged from Bengaluru’s Victoria hospital on that day, said news reports.
According to the Hindustan Times, the complaint comes as the party is strengthening its grip on the party ahead of Sasikala’s return to Tamil Nadu on February 7. The complaint was filed with the Tamil Nadu director general of police, J.K. Tripathy.
“Only AIADMK’s cadre and leadership can use the flag…Sasikala has no right to use the flag,” K. Munusamy, deputy coordinator of AIADMK said, reported the newspaper. He further added that Sasikala has ceased to be a member of the party because her membership has not been renewed. As per the party’s laws, office bearers should also renew their membership once in every five years.
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In January, Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had said that he won’t take back Sasikala in the party, said news reports. “There is no chance of Sasikala joining AIADMK after her release. Sasikala is not in the party…Her release will not change anything. Most of the people with TTV Dinakaran’s AMMK have already come back to the AIADMK.”
V.K. Sasikala, an aide of former chief minister Jayalalithaa, was formally released from prison last week, after completing her four-year sentence in a disproportionate assets case. She was later taken to Bengaluru’s Victoria Hospital as she had contracted COVID-19.
According to the Hindustan Times, Sasikala had challenged in the Madras high court the conduct of a general council meeting that expelled her from AIADMK. The case is still pending in the court.
The news report added that Sasikala also plans to file a curative petition challenging the election commission’s order which gave the Palaniswami-led faction the two leaves symbol and name of the party in November 2017.
Law minister C.V. Shunmugam told the daily that curative petitions rarely find success, and took a swipe at her, adding, “Beyond this if she wants to proceed with the case, she can go to the United Nations or the Mannargudi panchayat.”