Chennai, Dec 19 (IANS): In a surprise move, AIADMK general secretary and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa removed her close associate of nearly two decades V.K. Sasikala and 11 others from the basic membership of the party.
In a statement, Jayalalithaa announced that all party posts had been taken away from Sasikala, M. Natarajan, V. Baskaran, T.T.V. Dinakaran, Diwakar, V.N. Sudhakaran, S. Venkatesh, M. Ramachandran, Ravanan, Mohan, Kulothungan and Rajarajan.
Jayalalithaa also told party members not to have any contact with the dismissed members.
While Jayalalithaa is silent on the reasons for the action, party officials say the action could be due to the interference by Sasikala and her associates in the government administration.
The removal comes ahead of AIADMK's executive and general council meeting slated for Dec 30 here.