'Won't Sit Idle, Will Tour TN After Lifting of Lockdown': Sasikala

Sasikala said that she would commence her tour after visiting the mausoleum of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

The former aide of Jayalalithaa said that she would take all sections of the AIADMK with her and said that the party needs a total makeover to be in the reckoning in the state.

(Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

AIADMK's former interim General Secretary, VK Sasikala, who was subsequently expelled from the party, has announced that she would tour all districts of the state after the lifting of the lockdown. The state has announced a lockdown till 12 July.

Sasikala, in a telephonic chat with AIADMK leaders and former MLAs S Kamaraj and NG Parthiban, said that she would commence her tour after visiting the mausoleum of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

The former aide of Jayalalithaa said that she would take all sections of the AIADMK with her and said that the party needs a total makeover to be in the reckoning in the state.

She also claimed that she was instrumental in bringing the Janaki Ramachandran faction and the Jayalalithaa faction in the AIADMK together after the passing away of the party founder, MG Ramachandran (MGR).

She said that the present situation is comparatively much easier and added that as a seasoned politician, she could not sit idle at home once the party is facing turbulence.

Sasikala has been reaching out to AIADMK lower level and mid-level functionaries ever since the election results came and she has even floated a war room at her T Nagar residence to communicate with the AIADMK functionaries across the state.

Her sister in-law Ilavarasi and her trusted lieutenant Karthikeyan are coordinating her telephone calls and contacts with the AIADMK leaders.

AIADMK leader and former minister C Ve Shanmugham, however, told IANS that Sasikala "is not a force and that AIADMK does not have anything to do with her".

"She is already out of the party and she does not have any clout in the party. It is her dream and we won't allow her back here... she is a persona non-grata in AIADMK," he said.

(The article was originally published in The News Minute and has been reposted with permission.)