Continuation of O Panneerselvam as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has become uncertain and shaky as a person like M Thambi Durai, the Deputy Speaker of the lok Sabha himself coming out in the open and asking VK Sasikala, the AIADMK general secretary, to take charge as the Chief Minister.
In a statement issued on Monday in his official letter-head as the Deputy Speaker of the lok Sabha, Thambi Durai pleaded with his Chinamma (as Sasikala is addressed in reverence by the cadre) that she should take over the Chief Ministership of Tamil Nadu with immediate effect. His contention is that the social welfare initiatives launched by former Chief Ministers late MGR and late Jayalalithaa could be implemented if only the same person holds both the posts (that of general secretary and that of the Chief Minister).
“When we were very anxious and worried as to what would happen to the party and to the crores and crores of party cadres after the sad demise of Puratchi Thalaivi Hon’ble Amma, who was the General Secretary of the party for 27 long years, respected Chinamma has come to the rescue all of us, as a light-house. likewise, all of us have the unshakeable faith and confidence that the leadership of Respected Chinamma alone would continue to implement several welfare schemes for the people of Tamil Nadu that were initiated by Puratchi Thalaivar Dr MGR and Puratchi Thalaivi Hon’ble Amma,” said Durai.
To justify his demand, Durai pointed out that people in India do not accept the situation where the leadership of the party is in one hand and the leadership of the Government is in another hand. The election promises could be fulfilled only when the leadership of both the party and the Government was in one person’s hand, he claimed.
The Deputy Speaker pointed out that in India, Governments have lost their credibility among the people when the leadership of the party and the Government was in the hands of two different persons.
“When the country is going to face parliamentary election in two years, the AIADMK has to function very effectively to get the wholehearted support of the people and to continue to win the election, as was done by Puratchi Thalaivar and Puratchi Thalaivi, I emphatically request that Respected Chinamma has to immediately take over the leadership of the Government, as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,” said Durai in his five-pages long statement in which he has sung a lot of paeans on Sasikala.
After the release was issued, Durai drove down to Veda Nilayam in Chennai where Chinamma Sasikala has been staying. The duo had a 30-minute-long meeting. “We do not want the Uttar Pradesh incidents happening in Tamil Nadu,” Durai told reporters while coming out of Veda Nilayam.
Interestingly, the last two days saw a number of Ministers in the Paneerselvan Cabinet openly airing the demand for anointing Chinamma as the Chief Minister. Senior Ministers OS Manian, RB Udhayakumar, Sellur K Raju and Kadambur Raju came out with demands of replacing Panneerselvam with Chinamma Sasikala.
Meanwhile, the Madras High Court on Monday dismissed the petition filed by Sasikala Pushpa, the expelled AIADMK member challenging the move to appoint VK Sasikala as the general secretary of the party. According to the insiders in the AIADMK, the only hurdle which Chinamma has to clear is the Disproportionate Asset case in which she is the second accused. The Supreme Court has reserved judgment on the petition filed by Karnataka Government questioning the acquittal of all the accused including late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa by the Karnataka High Court.