Sasikala to decide when she wants to be CM: AIADMK spokesman
AIADMK spokesperson V Maitreyan on Monday said it was up to party chief Sasikala Natarajan to decide when she wanted to take over as Tamil Nadu CM. Notably, it has been a party tradition that the General Secretary serves as the CM when the party is in power. Maitreyan also praised late CM Jayalalithaa calling her an epitome of nationalism.
AIADMK spokesperson V Maitreyan hinted that the party was ready for general secretary Sasikala to take over as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu.Responding to a question at the India Today Conclave-South, Maitreyan said, "It is up to Chinamma (Sasikala) when she decides to take over as the Chief Minister. We cannot say anything."His comments assume significance in the view of the AIADMK tradition that the general secretary has always been the chief minister when the party is in power.Collaborating what Maitreyan said, India Today Consulting Editor Rajdeep Sardesai quoted a senior Tamil Nadu bureaucrat saying that the administration was preparing for a change of guard in the government.According to sources, Sardesai said that Sasikala might take over as the Tamil Nadu CM either on January 12 or January 18 as these two are 'auspicious dates'. Earlier during his speech, Rajya Sabha MP V Maitreyan said that the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa epitomised nationalism in the real sense of the term.Speaking at the first India Today Conclave-South, Maitreyan said, "Jayalalithaa can be summarised as the nationalist to the core."Maitreyan said that Jayalalithaa's stand on terrorism displayed her nationalist outlook. "Her stand on terrorism was unambiguous. She believed that terrorism needed to be wiped out completely. That's why she supported POTA during Vajpayee's regime and UAPA during Manmohan Singh's rule."Jayalalithaa had immense respect for former prime ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, the Rajya Sabha MP said.Relating an incident when her Kannadiga opponents wanted her to apologise for saying that she was Tamilian, Maitreyan said that "Jayalalithaa refused to express regret sorry saying she did not utter untruth. She asserted that she was a proud Tamilian. She lived for the people of Tamil Nadu."Maitreyan said that Jayalalithaa brought 67 per cent reservation for the downtrodden and deprived section of society in Tamil Nadu."Every scheme of her was for the welfare of the people, especially the poor, in Tamil Nadu. From cradle-baby scheme to Brand Amma canteen- everything that she did was for the people of Tamil Nadu," Maitreyan said.