‘Will set party straight’, says Sasikala in clip
CHENNAI: A day after the dual leadership in the AIADMK expelled 16 party members for speaking to their ousted former interim general secretary V K Sasikala, new audio clips emerged on Tuesday where she reveals that everyone backstabbed her and that she would have picked O Panneerselvam as chief minister before she went to prison in 2017. She also offers an explanation for her decision to step away from politics before elections and her determination to reclaim the party now.
Sasikala’s team released nine audio clips of her telephonic conversations with party functionaries from across Tamil Nadu. “I have a responsibility. I am confident that I’d be able to set the party straight. My wish is that the AIADMK should be strong even if it turns 100 years. We would definitely bring Amma (Jayalalithaa) rule. I will meet all of you soon,” she is heard saying in one of the audioclips.
Palaniswami and Panneerselvam who head the party as coordinators, and in the assembly as leader of opposition and deputy, were Sasikala’s loyalists who turned against her at different points. “Everyone back-stabbed me. There is no more space left on my back to be stabbed anymore,” Sasikala said. “But how can I be a mute spectator if they do this to cadres also?”
Her statement is unexpected as at that point, Panneerselvam staged a dramatic revolt against Sasikala after he resigned as chief minister to make way for her. Palaniswami was in Sasikala’s camp and hence she picked him before leaving for Bengaluru to surrender to serve her for a four year jail term as a convict in the disproportionate assets case.