BJP, DMK demand probe into Jayalalithaa's death, but why is Panneerselvam silent?

After the shocking revelation of senior AIADMK minister Dindigul Sreenivasan that most ministers lied about Jayalalithaa’s health when she was hospitalized, the DMK and BJP sought immediate commencement of a probe into her death.

However, one person who has kept silence over the matter is former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam although he had been frequently asking for a CBI probe earlier.

“We tender our sincere apologies because we told you many things while Amma was being treated at the hospital. We might have said Amma ate idlis etc. But, in truth, none of us saw her after being admitted at Apollo Hospitals. Only to protect the party, we all had uttered lies,” Sreenivasan said while addressing a public meeting to mark the birth anniversary of late leader C N Annadurai, at Pazhanganatham near Madurai.

Several ministers had arrived to see Jayalalithaa in the hospital including Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, then a union minister, and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi visited the hospital, but could not meet Jayalalithaa, he said. 

“Our suspicion is that we were prevented from meeting her only out of fear that she would reveal to us what was happening to her and how she was being killed. They (V K Sasikala faction) claim that they have videos of treatment provided to Amma. If they really have it, let them show it,” Sreenivasan was quoted as saying by the New Indian Express.

While the BJP and DMK have demanded a probe into the death as per a promise made by the newly merged AIADMK, Panneerselvam, who had initially met the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has not said anything on the matter nor has he backed the comments of Sreenivasan.

Instead, a petition has been filed at the Madras High Court for setting up an inquiry commission, headed by a retired high court judge, to find out the truth behind the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa by a Muruganandham. He claims to be a loyal AIADMK worker.

He also said that the OPS camp had raised suspicions over the death. But till this day no such commission has been formed.

• BJP
• DMK
• Panneerselvam
• Jayalalithaa