The fight for the legacy of late J Jayalalithaa and the control of the AIADMK got intensified on Wednesday, which happened to be the International Women’s Day, with the factions led by Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy and the ousted Chief Minister O Panneerselvam flexing their muscles to mobilise the party cadre behind their respective camps.
Panneerselvam held a dawn to dusk fast in Chennai seeking CBI probe into the factors that led to the December 6, 2016, death of Jayalalithaa who had been admitted to the Apollo Hospitals in Chennai on September 22, 2016. “This is the launching of a dharma yudh for justice. We will continue this struggle till the truth behind the death of Jayalalithaa is brought to light and release the AIADMK from the clutches of a family which has hijacked the party,” he told while addressing a mammoth meeting at Chennai at the conclusion of the day-long fast.
If thousands of people turned up for the fast to express solidarity with Panneerselvam is any indication, the rival camp led by party general secretary Sasikala Natarajan and Chief Minister Palaniswamy may have to work overtime to tide over the public resentment.
Though Panneerselvam could not mobilise more number of MlAs or MPs than what he could before the trust vote in the Tamil Nadu legislative Assembly, the fasts which were held simultaneously at other places in the State saw the participation of hundreds of people. At Salem, the fast was led by S Semmalai, MlA, one of the founder leaders of the party, a close associate of late MGR.
Though the Palaniswamy Government had managed to get the team of doctors from AIIMS, New Delhi, to release their version of the medical treatment given to Jayalalithaa, it has not dampened the spirit of Panneerselvam’s loyalists.
“The medical reports released by the Apollo Hospitals and the team of doctors from AIIMS, New Delhi are full of contradictions. The truth could be brought out only through a CBI probe or a commission of enquiry by a Supreme Court judge,” said E Madhusoodanan, the ousted presidium chairman of the AIADMK, one of the prominent leaders of the Panneerselvam faction.
But Palaniswamy fielded two senior colleagues, KA Sengottiyan, the new presidium chairman and Health Minister Vijaya Bhasker to take on the challenge thrown by Panneerselvam. “This fast and demonstration are for exploiting the name of Jayalalithaa. Why was Panneerselvam silent when he was the chief MinisterIJ He could have ordered a probe at that time itself,” said Sengottaiyan.
Meanwhile, Palaniswamy launched a counter offensive from Salem where he inaugurated a slew of schemes which were promised by former chief minister Jayalalithaa in her speeches in the assembly. The chief minister who is touring the State will dedicate and commission many development and welfare measures which have been completed during the last six months.
The local body elections which have to be held before the month of May is going to the first acid test for Palaniswamy Government. The Government is expected to announce a series of welfare measures in the Tamil Nadu Budget 2017-2018 to be presented on March 16.