Chennai: AIADMK General Secretary V K Sasikala today left for Bengaluru to surrender before a court there, after taking an emotional vow at the memorial of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa by slamming it thrice. She also visited AIADMK Founder and former CM M G Ramachandran’s residence at Ramapuram.

She left for Bengaluru after the Supreme Court this morning made it clear that Sasikala, convicted in the disproportionate assets case yesterday, needs to make herself available immediately to be jailed. “You know the meaning of the word immediately?” a Judge snapped when her lawyer asked for her to be allowed some time to surrender, citing health reasons.

Earlier, Sasikala held discussions with party seniors and family members at Poes Garden. Also this morning, she appointed her nephew and former MP T T V Dinakaran as the Deputy General Secretary of the party.

The appointment of Dinakaran to the key party post comes minutes after he and her other nephew Dr. S Venkatesh tendered letters of apology for their acts and requested her to re-induct them into the party.

It may be recalled in December 2011, Jayalalithaa had expelled Sasikala and 13 others, including Sasikala’s husband Natarajan and their relatives Dinakaran and Jayalalithaa’s disowned foster son V N Sudhakaran, and relieved them from the AIADMK.

After Sasikala tendered an apology and said that she would not aspire for any party post or power and that she would only assist her, she was re-inducted into Poes Garden and was with Jayalalithaa till she breathed her last.

Nearly six years after their expulsion, both Dinakaran and Venkatesh sent letters to the AIADMK leadership tendering an apology for their acts and requested that they should be re-inducted into the party.

“Accepting their request, both of them are admitted into the AIADMK as primary members of the party,” Sasikala said in a statement.

Minutes after accepting their letters of apology and re-inducting them into the party fold, Sasikala appointed Dinakaran as the Deputy General Secretary, which means that he would be the second in command in the party hierarchy.

It was a newly created post that would see Dinakaran running the party affairs, considering that Sasikala has to comply with the Supreme Court orders and surrender before the Trial Court in Bangalore after her four-year conviction was upheld in the disproportionate assets case yesterday.

With the Supreme Court rejecting her request seeking time to surrender on health grounds, Sasikala and two others (Elavarasi and Sudhakaran) had no other option but to comply with the orders and surrender before the Trial Court.

Meanwhile at the Jayalalithaa memorial, Sasikala got emotional after paying her respects and slammed the ‘samadhi’ thrice and took a vow. She later went to MGR’s Ramapuram house and meditated there for some time, before leaving for Bengaluru by road.