AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa on Monday expelled her party’s Rajya Sabha member Sasikala Pushpa, involved in the slapgate controversy, from the party and issued a stern warning to the cadre to have “no contacts” with the Parliamentarian. Pushpa, for her part, created a flutter in the Rajya Sabha by alleging that she faced a threat to her life in Tamil Nadu and that she was slapped by “a leader”, who she did not name even as the Opposition egged her on.
In a statement released to the media, Jayalalithaa said Pushpa was being ousted from the AIADMK for bringing disrepute to the party through her acts and for acting against the principles of the party.
Pushpa (40) from Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu was in the news last week following the fight she had with the DMK’s Tiruchi Siva (62) at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi on Saturday. There were reports that Pushpa slapped Siva following an argument the duo had at the airport.
Pushpa’s allegations led to sharp exchanges between the AIADMK members and the Congress and the SP leaders, who urged Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien to allow her to speak. AIADMK MPs, led by their leader A Navaneethkrishnan, had denied Pushpa’s allegations and demanded expunction of certain remarks made by her. Kurien assured protection to the woman MP, who broke down several times while making her submission.
While Siva was not available for comments, Pushpa had said on Saturday that she slapped the DMK member because of the harsh language he used against her leader.
But political observers in Tamil Nadu were unanimous in their view that there are some facts which have been left out of the story.
Pushpa had been handpicked by Jayalalithaa from among the cadre and was made the mayor of Thoothukudi Municipal Corporation.
She was also made the chief of the women’s wing of the party and was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in April 2014. But of late, she was stripped off all her positions in the party as a fallout of rumours which had made it to some of the Tamil weeklies and dailies.
“There is something more than meets the eye. There were money transactions and the news could have reached Veda Nilayam (residence of Jayalalithaa),” said a former top bureaucrat.
Former Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswamy said Pushpa would not lose her membership of the Upper House following her ouster from the party. “But it will be difficult for her to function as an unattached member in the House,” he said.
In the House, Pushpa first rushed into the Well of the House to get permission to make her statement and then broke down several times as she said she faced “life threat” from the State Government and alluded to her being slapped by a “leader”. She, however, did not mention who slapped her and when.
Raising the issue, she said “If an MP is being slapped by a leader, where is human dignityIJ” provoking strong protest from members of her own party. She was backed by Congress and SP members who asked the Chair to let Pushpa speak.
Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien said the chairman was the custodian of all members of the House and he will protect her too. He, however, asked her not to mention anyone’s name who cannot come to the House to defend himself or herself.
later, the expelled AIADMK thanked Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi for their support. However, Pushpa did not disclose her future plans about joining any political party. She also dismissed that there was any connection with the incident where she reportedly slapped DMK leader T Shiva and her expulsion from the party.