Appearing before the Commission probing the circumstances that led to the death of AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Monday said he was not aware of the reason for her hospitalization and feigned ignorance about the treatment provided to her at Apollo Hospitals.
Panneerselvam deposed before the Justice A Arumughaswamy Commission for nearly four hours after having ignored summons to appear before the panel in the past. He has been asked to appear again on Tuesday.
The former CM, during his deposition, suggested he was never consulted about the treatment provided to Jayalalithaa and that he received briefing only from the then Health Minister C Vijayabaskar, then Chief Secretary P Rama Mohana Rao and Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan.
The former CM’s statement that he was kept in the dark about Jayalalithaa’s hospitalisation and treatment despite him being the no. 2 in the then cabinet gives credence to his previous accusation that Sasikala took all the decisions and never informed anything even to senior members of the cabinet.
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He also said he did not give any orders to shut CCTV cameras on the hospital floor where Jayalalithaa was admitted. Panneerselvam’s deposition before the Commission is significant as he was the first to cast doubts about Jayalalithaa’s death after he rebelled against V K Sasikala and the prime mover behind the constitution of the panel.
The panel’s formation was always a political decision, and it was reinforced once again on Monday when Panneerselvam merely repeated what he had said about Jayalalithaa’s health and hospitalization in the past.
During the hearing, Panneerselvam also said he was not aware of why Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospitals on the night of September 22, 2016, and that he rushed from his native place in Theni after hearing the news. He said he last met Jayalalithaa on September 21 during the Chennai Metro rail inauguration.
The hearing in the case resumed last month after the court asked AIIMS to constitute a medical advisory board to assist the Commission and provide expert opinion. The Commission has so far examined 150 witnesses, including Jayalalithaa’s official and personal staff.
V K Sasikala, Jayalalithaa’s long-time friend, had submitted a voluminous response, narrating her side of the story and how her conviction by a Bengaluru court in 2014 triggered a host of health issues for the former chief minister. The commission recently got its 12th extension – this time for five months -- till June 24, the second after the DMK came to power.
Setting up a panel to probe the “mysterious death” of Jayalalithaa was one of the conditions set by the then rebel O Panneerselvam for merging his faction with that of Edappadi K Palaniswami.
Jayalalithaa’s death is one of the most politicised issues in Tamil Nadu in the past few years with DMK also demanding a “fair probe” into the AIADMK leader’s demise. The DMK also raked up Jayalalithaa’s death in the run-up to the polls and at one time, the party also demanded a CBI probe.
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