'Jayalalithaa's death was unnatural, probe Sasikala'

Founding member of the AIADMK makes shocking claims. Demands probe into Sasikala's 'conduct before and after Jayalalithaa's death'.

"Jayalalithaa was depressed. She collapsed at Poes Garden after someone pushed her," claimed PH Pandian, a senior leader of the AIADMK on Tuesday. Breaking his silence, Pandian said that he learnt of the many arguments inside the Poes Garden residence."She was taken to the hospital after she collapsed as a result of someone pushing her," he said while addressing the media.

He added that none was informed of the treatment given to her. He even raised questions about Sasikala's family surrounding Jayalalithaa's mortal remains at Rajaji hall. "I witnessed how Sasikala and her family were not even grieving when Amma suffered a cardiac arrest. We were all shocked to see Sasikala's family surround Jayalalithaa's body at Rajaji Hall," he said. Pandian demanded a probe against everyone who was present at Apollo on the night of December 5 when Jayalalithaa's death was announced.

His statements come a day after doctors who treated Jayalalithaa attempted to dispel rumours around her death, one of the founding members of the party and former speaker PH Pandian alleged that the former chief minister was depressed and often had arguments in Poes Garden.

Making his dissent over Sasikala's elevation as the chief minister clear, Pandian said that Jayalalithaa did not want Sasikala to become chief minister. "Jayalalithaa had once told me that she did not want Sasikala as CM. It is because of the blessing of M G Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa that Sasikala's swearing-in-ceremony didn't take place," the leader claimed. He added that Sasikala did not have the qualities to function as the AIADMK's general secretary or Tamil Nadu's chief minister.

AIADMK rubbishes allegations

Meanwhile, the AIADMK hit back at Pandian and accused him of trying to gain cheap publicity out of these allegations. Leaders of the AIADMK rubbished all his claims and said that these were mere assumptions. They questioned the timing of Pandian's statement and pointed out that doctors who treated Jayalalithaa held a press conference on Monday to give a clear picture of what really happened.

OneIndia News