Chennai: Expelled AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala has said the party coordinator, O Panneerselvam, had resigned ‘voluntarily’ as Chief Minister in February 2017.
In an audio clip, in response to observations of her supporter, Sivanesan of Theni, who was heard telling her that ‘If Ayya (Panneerselvam) had not quit then, he would even have prevented you out from undertaking ‘vanavasam’ (her going to a Bengaluru jail to serve a four-year-long sentence)’, Sasikala said, ‘Had he not done that, I would have retained him (as CM).’
She said that she will ‘come soon and set the party straight’. The latest clip emerged a day after the AIADMK headed by Panneerselvam and former CM Edappadi K Palaniswami sacked 15 people she spoke with recently.
“Other elections are coming up. We have to win and protect Jayalalithaa’s legacy. I am pained that party workers are expelled when we are in opposition,” she is heard saying.
“I have a responsibility. I am confident that I would be able to set the party straight. My wish is that the AIADMK should be strong even if it turns 100 years. We would definitely bring Amma rule. I will meet all of you soon,” she added.
During telephonic talk with many others, she said she decided to step aside from politics in March as “they had felt that they could accomplish victory in the Assembly election on their own.” The AIADMK regime could have retained power had “they cooperated and heeded to her call for unity,” Sasikala added.
