Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader MK Stalin has written to the Tamil Nadu governor seeking the dismissal of the vice chancellors of ten universities for meeting former chief minister J J Jayalalithaa’s aide Sasikala Natarajan. The 10-member delegation met Sasikala on Monday. After the meeting, the ruling party had said that the vice-chancellors had gone to offer their condolences and request Sasikala to “take over the leadership mantle” of the party, reported The Times of India.

Stalin said the meeting was unethical, unwarranted and unconstitutional. “Academicians who are the torchbearers of higher education in the state calling on a person who is not holding any public office is unethical, unwarranted and unconstitutional. Such an attitude on the part of vice-chancellors proves that their loyalty is neither for the academic excellence of the state nor for the chancellor of the universities,” he said.

On December 15, AIADMK spokesperson Ponnaiyan had announced that Sasikala Natarajan will be the new party chief. “It is the desire of the entire party,” he had said. “Sasikala has functioned as the conscience of Amma [Jayalalithaa].” Jayalalithaa died on December 5 after suffering a cardiac arrest the previous day in Chennai’s Apollo Hospital.