Hours after her “good news" teaser, expelled AIADMK leader VK Sasikala on Tuesday launched a new Dravidian party on the occasion of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s 78th birth anniversary.
Sasikala, who only revealed the flag of the party, said she will soon announce the name and there will be no change in her decision.
She said the Dravidian party is for the people of Tamil Nadu and will function “for the poor and common people and uproot enemies and traitors" – the last bit a swipe against former colleague and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami. She said the party will walk the path shown by “Perarignar Anna, Puratchi Thalaivar MGR, and Puratchi Thalaivi Amma".
“If I continue to remain silent as I have for the past nine years, it would amount to a betrayal of the people of Tamil Nadu. Therefore, for the sake of the people of Tamil Nadu and our party cadres, we are going to launch a new party. For the people of Tamil Nadu and for our cadres, we are going to usher in a new era. We are starting a new party, a new Dravidian party that will follow the path of Perarignar Anna, Puratchi Thalaivar MGR, and Puratchi Thalaivi Amma. It will function as a party for the poor and common people and will uproot enemies and traitors," Sasikala said while addressing a public meeting in Ramanathapuram to commemorate Jayalalithaa.
Her party flag in black, white and red displayed images of Anna, MGR and Jayalalitha.
Without naming him, Sasikala launched a scathing attack on Palaniswami accusing him of betrayal while claiming that the AIADMK had declined under his leadership.
Once the AIADMK’s acting general secretary and a close aide to Jayalalithaa, Sasikala was expelled from the party after she was convicted in the disproportionate assets case.
“We hastily chose him (Palaniswami) as chief minister. I do not even wish to mention his name. If he had been a good person, I would have said his name. When he became chief minister, I did not fully know what kind of person he was," she said, claiming that she played a decisive role in elevating him.
She added: “I made him sit in the chief minister’s chair and left. But what kind of person would he be if he passed a resolution to remove me?"
She alleged that while she was in prison, her parole period was curtailed at his direction. “When I was in prison, the prison authorities granted me 15 days of parole. However, the Chennai commissioner contacted the prison SP (superintendent of police) and informed them that the chief minister had ordered that I should not be given more than five days of parole. So they told us they could not do anything. Even when my husband passed away, though 15 days were initially granted, they later informed us that only 10 days would be allowed. The very person whom I made chief minister stabbed me in the back," she added.
Source: Politics News in news18.com, Politics Latest News, Politics News
