CHENNAI: A day after the DMK working president MK Stalin made a scathing attack, the former Chief Minister and leader of the rebel AIADMK faction O Panneerselvam parried answering Stalin’s accusations saying the DMK leader’s outbursts were ‘political’ and intended to extract mileage in the RK Nagar by-poll.
“Stalin’s rhetoric is aimed at politics in view of the election. I need not respond to it,” Panneerselvam told the media at his official residence on Greenways Road here on Wednesday. He also accused Stalin of making the outbursts out of fear of losing the battle in RK Nagar where the DMK had lost people’s support.
Questioning OPS’ stoic silence all along when the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was hospitalised and till he was stripped off the chiefministership over the mystery surrounding her death, Stalin wondered why he didn’t even try to move a motion during the recent Budget session seeking a judicial probe.
Explaining the concerns expressed by him during the days within the party and Government, OPS said he had actually wanted Sasikala, through the deputy speaker of Lok Sabha M Thambi Durai, to move Jayalalithaa to the US for specialised treatment but his plea was turned down by Sasikala.
“I asked Thambi Durai to tell her (Sasikala) to move Amma to the US for specialised treatment. But she refused, saying the treatment given at Apollo Hospitals was the best. The management of the hospital too told me the treatment was better and suited the requirement,” he recalled.
Recalling his talks with the Tamil Nadu Health Minister Dr C Vijayabaskar, whom he called the “team leader” when Jayalalithaa was under treatment, OPS said he had warned Vijayabaskar that the health minister would invite the wrath of the cadre if Amma did not return home in good health. The former Chief Minister also said he had told the top officials the need to set up an inquiry commission so that the suspicions in the minds of the people could be cleared.
Replying to Stalin’s challenge to expose 90 per cent truth of Sasikala’s secret deeds, which OPS on the day of his revolt had threatened to make public at the right time, he stated he meant only the moves made by her (Sasikala) family to separate him from Jayalalithaa since 2006 as he was the only leader whom the late leader trusted.
“Since I was the only leader to have gained the trust of Amma, Sasikala’s family tried to harm me. By saying that 90 per cent matters were with me, I meant only this, but in due course I buried them in my mind,” the dethroned Chief Minister said.
Stoutly denying the accusation that he had close links with the sand mining businessman Shekar Reddy, he said the award of mining licence was done as a regular process and he had met Shekar Reddy in Tirupati temple where he was a representative of the temple trust.
He questioned the locus standi of Stalin to rake up the issue of corruption when DMK party leaders were involved in scams that included the 2G spectrum allocation and the Aircel Maxis deal.