Chennai: AIADMK rebel TTV Dhinakaran on Thursday slammed the Justice A Arumughasamy Commission probing Jayalalithaa's death for lodging police complaint against his loyalist P. Vetrivel on the Jayalalithaa video issue.
It was preposterous on the part of the commission’s secretary to write in his police complaint that the video showing Jayalalithaa sipping juice in her hospital bed, was “learnt to have been morphed,” he said.
Arguing that the commission should not have complained based on hearsay, TTV said, “How could he have branded the video as morphed without seeing and checking it himself? By making such a complaint, the commission has subjected itself to enquiry”.
Recalling that he had spoken several times of his possessing the videos of Jayalalithaa in hospital, TTV said if only commission had bothered to summon him, he would have gladly provided all the required information and available evidence. Instead of calling him, the commission has now chosen to make wild charges about the video's genuineness, TTV told reporters here.
Confirming Vetrivel's assertion that he released the video without getting the sanction either from him or Sasikala, TTV said he refrained from commenting on the episode as the RK Nagar poll process was on and he did not want to be seen violating the code. “I was at home and someone brought it to my attention that Vetrivel's video release was on the TV channels. In surprise, I called him but his phone was switched off. Later, he came home and I asked him why he did such a thing,” TTV said.
“Vetrivel told me he did not seek my prior approval because he was sure I will not allow it. He said he was very upset over the charges being made against me and party general secretary Chinnamma, so he went ahead and released it to the media, confident he could convince me subsequently and meet Chinnamma later to apologise”, TTV said.
Dismissing criticism that he had used the video, through Vetrivel, to gain mileage in the RK Nagar bypoll, he said, “Had I wanted to use it for electoral gain, I would have released it even in February when I got it from Chinnamma. That would have helped in the bypoll before it got cancelled in April. We did not want to release it to public as Amma (Jayalalithaa) was dressed in a nightie. This enquiry commission was not constituted when I got the video”. He said Sasikala had shot the video at the request of Jayalalithaa in November.
