Jayalalithaa, in a statement, said she accepted the explanation given by Sasikala that she was unaware of the conspiracies hatched by her close relatives.
Three months after expelling her from the party, AIADMK supremo and chief minister Jayalalithaa on Saturday revoked the expulsion of estranged aide VK Sasikala, signalling a rapprochement between them.
Jayalalithaa, in a statement, said she accepted the explanation given by Sasikala that she was unaware of the conspiracies hatched by her close relatives. Sasikala had dumped all her relatives including husband Natarajan whom Jayalalithaa had ousted from the primary membership of the AIADMK.
“Sasikala has sent a letter to me. She has also issued a statement with the same content. I accept her explanation. The disciplinary action against her stands cancelled,” said Jayalalithaa.
However, the disciplinary action against close relatives of Sasikala, including against M Natarajan and others, would continue and party members are advised not to have any contacts with them, Jayalalithaa said in her statement. In December, Jayalalithaa had ousted Sasikala, Natarajan and 14 of her relations for anti-party activities. Jayalalithaa had told the party cadre not to have any truck with the ousted persons. But on March 28, Sasikala issued a statement swearing her life-long dedication to Akka (elder sister) and her dissociation with the other members of the Mannargudi Mafia (as Sasikala and her relatives are known).
Political observers find nothing abnormal in the patching up and the tiff between Chinnamma (little mother) and Periyamma (elder mother) coming to an end. “There definitely was a vacuum in Jayalalithaa’s life with the ousting of Sasikala. Jayalalithaa needs someone for emotional support. Sasikala’s had been the only shoulders where she could keep her head for some kind relief and she doers not have any close relatives,” said N Sathyamoorthi, political commentator.
It was said Sasikala and her cronies were ousted from the party because of their frequent intervention in the day-to-day functioning of the government. The grapevine is that all political and bureaucratic postings were done as per the whims and fancies of the Mannargudi Mafia.
“We are baffled by the speed with which the two patched up,” said a senior intelligence official. He said the patch up was expected only after the judgement in the disproportionate asset case in which Periyamma and Chinnamma are co-accused. “But Sasikala came back to Veda Nilayam on Thursday before proceeding to Bangalore. Let’s wait for more colourful developments,” he said.
This is the second time that Sasikala has fallen out of Jaya’s favour and patched up. In 1996, Jaya removed Sasikala following the then Assembly poll debacle. hey had, however, made amends days later.
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