Sasikala becoming CM is not party's internal affair: Tamilisai Soundararajan

Chennai: Contending that there is vast difference between Ms VK Sasikala heading the AIADMK and becoming Chief Minister of the state “without getting duly elected,” BJP state president Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan said the AIADMK legislature party’s collective decision in electing her as their leader is a “debatable subject.”

“As general secretary, she would be involved with the affairs of her party but as Chief Minister she would be engaged in administering the state and hence the AIADMK paving way for Ms Sasikala to become Chief Minister cannot be construed as internal affairs of that party,” she said.

Claiming that frequent changes at the helm of affairs would not augur well for Tamil Nadu or its people, Dr. Tamilisai wanted to know why the AIADMK is in such a hurry to make Ms Sasikala as Chief Minister. “Even when Mr. O. Panneerselvam became Chief Minister following the demise of Jayalalithaa, there was talk of replacing him. This kind of unsteady situation is not good for the wellbeing of the state. Why is the AIADMK showing such haste, why the necessity to replace Mr. Panneerselvam,” she asked.

When it was pointed out that the AIADMK considered Ms Sasikala as “shadow of Jayalalithaa for nearly three decades,” the BJP leader shot back, “if that was true, then Jayalalithaa’s natural choice to replace her whenever there was need, would have fallen on Ms Sasikala, not Mr. Panneerselvam.” “It is not that I am opposed to anyone becoming Chief Minister. I would be the first to congratulate a woman becoming CM. The issue is of larger interest of the state and the decisive mandate the people gave to Jayalalithaa and her AIADMK,” she added.