Chennai: Expelled AIADMK leader V K Sasikala returned to Tamilnadu today to a grand reception after completing her four-year jail term in Bengaluru in a disproportionate assets case.
Sasikala crossed into Tamilnadu at Athipalli in Krishnagiri district bordering Karnataka, around 10 am as her supporters broke into celebrations, dancing to drum beats and showering flower petals on her convoy.
Her return to Tamilnadu is being keenly watched as it comes at a time when the Assembly elections in the State are likely to be held in the next few months.
Earlier, she left a resort on Bengaluru outkirts, accompanied by her nephew and general secretary of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam T T V Dhinakaran, in a convoy of around 200 vehicles as her supporters raised slogans hailing her.
Before leaving, Sasikala, wearing a face mask, offered floral tributes to a portrait of Jayalalithaa.
She travelled in a car that sported the AIADMK flag over the bonnet, disregarding the warning by the ruling party in Tamilnadu against its use by non-members.
Sasikala was greeted by a large gathering of people who waved both the AIADMK and
AMMK flags as she crossed into Tamilnadu at Athipallai border.
At several locations along the road to Hosur, welcome arches were erected to greet Sasikala.
A festive atmosphere gripped the towns in the border district of Krishnagiri in western Tamilnadu with banners, flex boards, posters and hoardings welcoming Sasikala.
Women holding on their head ‘Kalasam’ decorated with flowers lined up on the roadsides to receive the leader. Sasikala visited a few temples on her way back to Chennai.
She will stay at her niece J Krishnapriya’s residence in the T Nagar area of Chennai.
Posters welcoming Sasikala have been put up in T Nagar ahead of her return to the state.
Sasikala was discharged on 31 January from Bengaluru’s Victoria hospital where she was undergoing Covid-19 treatment. She was undergoing quarantine since then, after being officially released from judicial custody on 27 January for completing her four-year prison sentence in a disproportionate assets case.
Meanwhile, the ruling AIADMK has lodged a complaint with police against her camp, alleging a ‘conspiracy’ to unleash ‘violence’ and sought action to ensure peace in the state.
While Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) chief and Sasikala’s nephew Dhinakaran rubbished the conspiracy allegation as defamatory and lies, the police department warned of action against ‘activities contrary to law’.
Law Minister C Ve Shanmugam alleged the conspiracy has been hatched to create ‘violence’ by using AIADMK’s name and flag and then blame the ruling party for it.