CHENNAI: Senior minister ‘Dindigul’ C Sreenivasan on Saturday stirred a controversy over AIADMK icon and former chief minister’s J Jayalalithaa’s health while she was hospitalised. Coming as it did from the number three in the Cabinet - after the Chief Minister and his deputy - especially when the ruling faction is facing allegations of going slow of the announced probe into her death, Sreenivasan’s comments gave fodder to the opposition to attack the government.
“We tender our sincere apologies because we told you many things while Amma was being treated at the hospital. We might have said Amma ate idlis etc. But, in truth, none of us saw her after being admitted at Apollo Hospitals. Only to protect the party, we all had uttered lies,” Sreenivasan said with folded hands, while addressing a public meeting to mark the birth anniversary of late leader C N Annadurai, at Pazhanganatham near Madurai.
A stream of leaders, including Vice President Venkaiah Naidu (who was a Union minister then) and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi visited the hospital, but could not meet Jayalalithaa, he said. “Our suspicion is that we were prevented from meeting her only out of fear that she would reveal to us what was happening to her and how she was being killed. They (V K Sasikala faction) claim that they have videos of treatment provided to Amma. If they really have it, let them show it,” added Sreenivasan.
Facing questions about these revelations while he was in Coorg to meet the disqualified MLAs from his camp, ousted deputy general secretary and the pointsperson of the Sasikala faction, T T V Dhinakaran, said they were willing to face even a CBI probe into the matter.
“The Governor saw the late Chief Minister. Doctors from AIIMS and from abroad also visited her. Did they too lie about Jayalalithaa’s health condition? The fact is, after October 1, even Sasikala was not allowed to see Jayalalithaa. Once in a while, with the doctors’ permission, she went in and saw the late Chief Minister for a couple of minutes. Let them order a CBI inquiry… we are ready to face it... only those in power at that time (present Deputy CM O Panneerselvam) would be punished if anything is proven wrong,” he said.
Both arch rival DMK and BJP sought immediate commencement of the probe as promised under the merger negotiations between the factions headed by Chief Minister ‘Edappadi’ K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam.
“If none could meet Jaya at the hospital as the minister revealed now, how did she sign the file recommending the Governor to reallocate her portfolios to Panneerselvam, and [on the document] allocating party symbol during the by-election to three Assembly constituencies? We need a CBI inquiry into this immediately,” said DMK working president M K Stalin.
Though OPS had demanded an inquiry commission as a precondition for merger, the announcement in this regard remained only on paper so far, he charged. Meanwhile, a cadre filed a writ petition in the HC seeking a judicial enquiry headed by a retired HC judge to look into Jaya’s death,