More than a week after the Delhi Crime Branch booked AIADMK Deputy General Secretary (Sasikala faction) TTV Dhinakaran with attempting to bribe Election Commission officials, the party leader was arrested in the capital late on Tuesday night.
Hours after his arrest, the ruling faction was quick to distance itself from the Dhinakaran. Speaking to reporters, Law Minister CVe Shanmugam said, "TTV Dhinakaran will face the case on his own and we have already kept him away from party affairs."
While Dhinakaran’s arrest was inevitable coming as it did after four days of intense interrogation, his supporters have accused former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam of colluding with the Centre for the Delhi Police’s action. "The OPS faction has sold out to the BJP. They are dancing to the tune set by the Centre," says Nanjil Sampath, a TTV sympathiser. "We knew TTV will be arrested the minute OPS said that the climate for talks has come. Isn't what is happening here obvious? The BJP wants to make everyone Hindus and spread Hindi. Now, OPS too, who they have given Y level security, is with them," he adds.
While these allegations are not new, the latest move by the Delhi police, comes at a time when merger talks between the two warring factions of the AIADMK continue to remain in limbo. Former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam’s faction has demanded the ouster of the Mannargudi clan from the AIADMK. This was set as a precondition for the merger. While the Sasikala faction sidelined its Deputy General Secretary, no move was made to remove him from the post.
The OPS faction, however, hastily denied this allegation, claiming that TTV's actions have brought shame to the entire state of Tamil Nadu " The OPS camp and the BJP has no link whatsoever," says former minister C Ponnaiyan. "We have in fact vehemently opposed the centre's stand on several issues," he claims.
The Tamil Nadu BJP too was quick to distance itself from Dhinakaran’s arrest. "His attempt to bribe Election Commission officials is the reason he is going behind bars. How can the BJP be blamed for this? Did we ask him to go bribe officials?" asks Tamilisai Soundararajan, the state BJP chief. "From call recording to CCTV footage, there is enough evidence to prove his guilt in the matter," she adds.
Hours after TTV’s arrest the ruling faction removed Sasikala’s posters and banners from the AIADMK headquarters in Chennai. The removal of Sasikala’s banners was one of the pre-conditions for talks between the two sides.