Amma was my life: Sasikala

TAKES OVER REINS OF AIADMK

V K SASIKALA took over the reins of Tamil Nadu’s ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) as its general secretary on Saturday. She garlanded AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran’s statue amid slogans praising her before entering the party office to hold discussions with senior functionaries.

A close aide of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, Sasikala, 62, signed registers and documents to mark her elevation and then addressed the party leaders.

The media were kept away from the function while the party mouthpiece, Jaya TV (Plus), telecast her speech live.

Sasikala began the 15minute address by reminding the audience of Jayalalithaa’s dream of retaining AIADMK’S rule in the state for 100 years. She recalled her 33-year association with Jayalalithaa and thousands of meetings she accompanied her Akka (elder sister) to.

Sasikala, known as Chinnamma (younger amma), said that Jayalalithaa’s demise on December 5 was a bolt of lightning while heaping praise on the latecm.“foramma(jayalalithaa), the party was her life and everything.butforme,shewasmylife,” she said in her first public speech despiteathree-decade-longassociation with Jayalalithaa.

Sasikala kept wiping her tears throughout the speech. She said that she never imagined “such a thing” — Jayalalithaa’s death. “I strongly believed that she would survive. There were doctors from Aiims(indelhi)andlondontoattend to her,’’ she said.

“But God took away his favouritedaughterdaysbeforewe were to shift her back to Poes Garden(jayalalithaa’sresidence).’’

Sasikala said that she had spentherlifelookingafteramma. “For the last 33 years, since I was 29, I had been with her. I lived the life always thinking about her; whether Akka had gone to the Fort (the state Secretariat), whether she had eaten.’’

She assured that AIADMK will always be a party of the people. She underlined the importance of the AIADMK’S cadres. “We can see flowers. We can see fruits. We can see leaves too, but we cannot see roots. Our cadres are the roots,’’ Sasikala said in her written speech.

Sasikala appeared in a olive green saree for her first public appearance to assume the responsibility.

PTI Sasikala addresses AIADMK leaders in Chennai on Saturday.