Chennai: AIADMK on Thursday hit back at expelled leader V K Sasikala over her remarks against Edappadi K Palaniswami made at a public meeting in Pasumpon earlier this week, accusing her of attempting to peddle untruths after being sidelined from the party.AIADMK deputy general secretary K P Munusamy said hers was “a family that once ran a small photography studio and drained the party’s resources and accumulated wealth worth crores”. “She has now levelled false allegations against Edappadi K Palaniswami. It is condemnable,” he said.Munusamy said Sasikala was ousted from the house by the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa. “She returned after giving a written assurance that she would not involve herself in politics and would remain by Jayalalithaa’s side as a sister. But she went back on that promise within days of Jayalalithaa’s death,” he said. “She then forced O Panneerselvam to step down and wanted to become the chief minister. But dharma did not let it happen,” he said.Another deputy general secretary of the party, Vaigai Selvan, said AIADMK was a mass organization built by cadres and could not be weakened by individual attacks. He said Palaniswami now headed the movement with the backing of party workers and that the party stood strongly behind him. However, when reporters asked former AIADMK minister Sellur Raju about Sasikala’s allegations against Palaniswami, he refused to comment.Meanwhile, Sasikala told reporters at Chennai airport that her party would contest the Assembly elections and that discussions were underway to decide whether it would fight alone or align with any political front.
