SASIKALA VISITS HUSBAND AT HOSPITAL
CHENNAI: Sidelined AIADMK leader V K Sasikala, out of jail on a five-day parole, today visited her husband M Natarajan who is recovering at a hospital here after undergoing a liver and kidney transplant.
Sasikala, who was removed from the AIADMK last month after the factions led by Chief Minister K Palaniswami and now Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam united, met Natarajan and was with him for about two hours in the hospital, sources said.
Later, she returned to her niece Krishnapriya's residence in the city.
The beleaguered AIADMK leader's car briefly halted in front of a Ganesha temple in Kotturpuram and she prayed from inside the vehicle as used to be done by late AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa.
Sasikala's low profile visit to hospital was in stark contrast to her public appearances prior to her incarceration in February.
During her days before being imprisoned, she used to be surrounded by party men and loyalists raising slogans praising her as "Chinnamma".
Sasikala has been lodged in the Parapana Agrahara central jail since February this year after the Supreme Court upheld her conviction by a special court in a disproportionate assets case. Her relatives Ilavarasi and V N Sudhakaran are also serving four-year jail terms in the case.
Facing tough parole conditions, she refrained from visiting party men or interacting with them during her hospital visit today.
The hospital, meanwhile, said in a statement that Natarajan (74) is recovering and he is "awake and oriented and is on ventilator support through tracheostomy, which was performed on October 6".
TTV Dhinakaran loyalist and senior leader Nanjil Sampath said he saw Sasikala in the hospital and told her to pray.