“We believe the swearing-in was done in a hurry to check any rebellion against Sasikalaa taking control suddenly,” said a senior AIADMK leader. Sasikalaa, who controlled much of the party affairs even when Jayalalithaa was in charge, is said to have the backing of more than half of the party MLAs, many of them thevars, a community to which she and OPS belong.
Another leader was more emotional. “Amma was buried as ‘Puratchi Thalaivi Selvi J Jayalalithaa’ (as embossed on her coffin) and not as the Tamil Nadu chief minister,” said a senior party leader. “This is because they were in a tearing hurry to swear in OPS as CM. There is something fishy.”
A senior AIADMK MP countered the argument saying that the reason for the haste was to avoid any uncertainty. “Our rivals are bound to prey on our party. Moreover, wasn’t Rajiv Gandhi too sworn in even before the funeral of his mother Indira Gandhi?”
(Sourced from agencies, feature image courtesy:oneindia.com)
