Chennai sources have stated that after 40 minutes of absolute stillness at the memorial of his leader and former Chief Minister Jayalalitha, Mr. Panneerselvam arose, to turn on his recent past and to plunge the knife in, and twist it, repeatedly, on the current leadership in the AIADMK and its general secretary.
The Brutus who was swayed into assassinating Caesar, if you will. But in his address to the media later, the veritable Mark Antony has delivered a dignified funeral oration that turned the public tide against AIADMK general secretary V.K. Sasikala, and those on her side. The task was half done for him though. For those in Tamil Nadu, popular animosity against Ms. Sasikala, particularly since Sunday when she put her hand up for the post of the leader of the legislature party, was quite palpable.
While her ministers,
including Mr. Panneerselvam, and MLAs stuck by her, it was clear that public
sentiment, for whatever it was worth, weighed overwhelmingly against her.
People thought the act smacked of naked ambition, and that the urgency of it
all was suspect. They have said as much on social media. Be that as it may, it
did seem that there were no illegalities involved, and nothing stood in the
path of Ms. Sasikala’s anointment as chief minister.
