Chief Minister should be chosen by the people: Deepa

Deepa was responding to questions on AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala being nominated leader of the legislature party, the first step to becoming chief minister soon. Asked about widespread resentment against Sasikala among party cadre and the public, she said, “What people feel, I also feel. That Chief Minister O Panneerselvam who did well was being asked to give up his post pains me,” she said and added that, “This incident was not necessary for Tamil Nadu at a time when the state was grappling with many other issues.” She confirmed that she would be touring the state to know the pulse of the people in a couple of days. 

Meanwhile, news of AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala being nominated as legislature party leader at the MLAs meeting on Sunday afternoon, has not changed the ‘ground reality’ in the party, according to a cross section of party workers who spoke to this newspaper. A former MLA seeking anonymity, said, “Sasikala’s husband Natarajan who avoided speaking out on party issues when Jayalalithaa was alive, now speaks to the press. This in itself is a pointer to the mood in his family to grab power.”