NEW DELHI: Late former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s close aide VK Sasikala’s release from jail and subsequent visit to Tamil Nadu on Monday seems to have rattled the AIADMK government in the state.
After serving a four-year sentence in the Rs 66.65-crore disproportionate assets case since February 2017, Sasikala was released from the Parappana Agrahara central jail in Bengaluru on January 27. However, she was admitted to the Government Victoria Hospital after testing positive for Covid-19 while she was in the prison.
On getting discharged from the hospital on January 31, she stayed at a resort, about 35 km from Bengaluru.
Sasikala, a former AIADMK general secretary who was expelled from the party in September 2017, entered Tamil Nadu from Karnataka at Athipalli in Krishnagiri district on Monday morning with much pomp and show. Subsequently, she offered prayers at a Goddess Mariamman temple in Hosur town in the district, about 40 kilometres from Bengaluru.
Her nephew, TTV Dhinakaran, who launched a breakaway faction Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), claimed that several functionaries of the AIADMK showed up to welcome Sasikala. Though Sasikala has not revealed her political cards, it is clear that she is hell-bent on taking on the AIADMK government.
On the other hand, the Edappadi K Palaniswami government seems to have become jittery. It has taken several measures to rein in Sasikala much before she was even released from prison.
Ordinance to take over Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden
The AIADMK government got an ordinance promulgated in May last year to temporarily take over Veda Nilayam, the residence of Jayalalithaa in Poes Garden, Chennai. It also decided to establish a foundation to turn Veda Nilayam into a memorial. This was to ostensibly avert any chances of Sasikala or Jayalalithaa’s kin claiming possession of the house.
A day after Sasikala was released from prison, Palaniswami inaugurated the memorial house in the presence of deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam, cabinet colleagues and senior AIADMK leaders. The function was a low-key affair as the Madras high court had directed that the general public was not to be allowed inside the Veda Nilayam premises as the case was sub judice. “Only main gates to the bungalow should be opened and the participants should access only the garden,” the high court had said.
Before Sasikala’s entry, heavy security was deployed and CCTV cameras were installed not just around Veda Nilayam but also in AIADMK’s office on Avvai Shanmugam Salai in Chennai.
Action against Sasikala’s kin
On January 31, the day Sasikala was discharged from hospital and shifted to a resort near the Karnataka capital, the Chennai collectorate took action against her kin.
It issued orders to confiscate the properties of J Ilavarasi and VN Sudhakaran in the disproportionate assets case.
Action against Sasikala’s supporters in AIADMK
On February 3, the AIADMK leadership even took action against its partymen for showing allegiance to Sasikala. It removed its Karnataka secretary MP Yuvaraj for planning to meet the former party general secretary.
Earlier, the AIADMK sacked several functionaries for putting up posters welcoming Sasikala and which quoted her post as the party general secretary.
Police complaints for use of AIADMK flag
On February 4, the AIADMK lodged two police complaints against Sasikala. One complaint requested the police to bar her from using the AIADMK party flag. The other one was to express apprehensions that her supporters may create law and order problems.
Accordingly, the Tamil Nadu police prohibited more than five cars in her convoy and asked her not to use the party flag on her car.
The extent to which the issues were attached importance is clear from the fact that law minister CV Shunmugam, fisheries minister D Jayakumar and other senior AIADMK leaders went to director general of police JK Tripathy’s office to file the complaints.
While talking to reporters after submitting the complaint, AIADMK deputy coordinator K Munusamy said, “Only AIADMK’s cadre and leadership can use the flag… Sasikala has no right to use the flag.”
He also said Sasikala ceased to be an AIADMK member because she had not renewed her party membership, which is mandatory once every five years for the existing office bearers, according to the party by-laws.
Sasikala ignores police order
Though the Tamil Nadu police barred Sasikala from using the AIADMK flag on her car and asked her not to have more than five cars in her convoy, she gave two hoots to both of them when she crossed over to the state on Monday.
Her cars did have the AIADMK flag and there were about 200 cars in her convoy, according to reports. ‘Chinnamma’, as she is fondly addressed by her supporters, was greeted by a large crowd who waved both the AIADMK and AMMK flags as she entered Tamil Nadu.
Dhinakaran defended the party flag on her car saying she was still the AIADMK general secretary as the petitions over her ‘expulsion’ were sub judice.