 "Sasikala appointed AIADMK chief: Party wants Nobel Peace Prize for Jayalalithaa")
The era of VK Sasikala in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has begun. The ruling party of Tamil Nadu appointed VK Sasikala, an aide of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa (sometimes her name is also spelt as Jayalalitha), as the general secretary in a general council meeting in Vanagram, Chennai on Thursday.
Sasikala will lead the party until a new general secretary is elected, the party said in one of the 14 resolutions adopted at the meeting.
#Breakingnews- 5th resolution says Sasikala appointed as General Secretary till a General Secretary is elected. @thenewsminute
— Dhanya Rajendran (@dhanyarajendran) December 29, 2016
The party passed resolutions demanding Jayalalithaa’s birthday to be celebrated as “National Farmers Day” and that the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu should be conferred with Magsaysay Award and Nobel prize for World Peace.
Resolutions (Index) made at the AIADMK General Council meet. pic.twitter.com/WW1WYXtoxQ
— AIADMK - -SayYesToWomenSafety&AIADMK (@AIADMKOfficial) December 29, 2016
Chennai: AIADMK general body meeting underway (Inside Visuals) pic.twitter.com/hpuU0FFQCQ
— ANI (@ANI) December 29, 2016
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam arrives for the AIADMK General Body meeting pic.twitter.com/5ZfntmHNzN
— ANI (@ANI) December 29, 2016
The meeting, however, was just a formality since Senior leaders of the party had openly declared on Wednesday that VK Sasikala would the new general secretary of the party at its general council meeting on Thursday, reports said. According to Deccan Chronicle, party spokesman C Ponnaiyan had said that no one has submitted application to contest for the post of general secretary and ‘Chinnamma’ will be elected unanimously. “She alone has the capacity to safeguard the party since she had been with Amma during 30 years of political life. She has all the capabilities to take over as the general secretary”, Ponnaiyan had said on Wednesday. The Indian Express had reported that party’s leaders, including district secretaries, were asked to assemble in Vanagaram for the meeting. The report also said that leaders of various wings of the party had already endorsed the leadership of Sasikala. VK Sasikala didn’t attend the meeting either. While DNA said that “she apparently wanted to convey the image of a reluctant politician — that she doesn’t want any post but it is the party that has thrust the post on her”, a party source informed The Indian Express that VK Sasikala was advised by her astrologer to take up the new role either on 2 January or 3 January. According to ANI, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam handed over copies of the resolutions passed at the party general meeting to VK Sasikala at Poes Garden. Reports said that Sasikala has accepted all the resolutions passed in the party general meeting.
Sasikala Natarajan promised & accepted that; From today she'll be General Secretary of AIADMK and will soon formally take charge: TN CM pic.twitter.com/X5cFGIFzdZ
— ANI (@ANI) December 29, 2016
This was the first general council meeting of the party after the death of Jayalalithaa. Soon after the party general meeting, posters of Sasikala and Jayalalithaa appeared on the streets of Chennai.
Chennai: Posters of Sasikala Natarajan being put up after AIADMK adopted resolution to work under her leadership in the party gen body meet. pic.twitter.com/I2JDfg0Hsz
— ANI (@ANI) December 29, 2016
Rebels cry foul Earlier on Wednesday, a scuffle had broken out when Lingeswara Thilagan, husband of expelled AIADMK MP Sasikala Pushpa and her lawyers, had gone to the party office to file her candidature for the post of party general secretary. According to News18, Pushpa had moved the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe or a judicial investigation by an apex court judge into the death of Jayalalithaa. In her petition, Pushpa had alleged that Jayalalithaa’s death was “suspicious” as her actual medical condition was not disclosed, no one was allowed to visit her, her funeral photographs showed embalming marks and everything from her hospitalisation to her death “was kept under wraps”. Now, one of the major challenges for VK Sasikala would be to silence rebels like Sasikala Pushpa and convince voters that she is the rightful heir of Amma.
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