A 42-year-old supporter of ousted AIADMK leader V K Sasikala was allegedly roughed up by party men for shouting slogans at former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, calling him a “betrayer” inside the bus they were travelling in from the tarmac to the terminal building of the Madurai Airport.
Rajeshwaran began a live broadcast on his Facebook account when he saw Palaniswami on the airline bus by calling him a “traitor.”
“I am here with Edappadiyar. The Leader of Opposition who is a betrayer. He betrayed Chinnamma (Sasikala). He betrayed the people of south Tamil Nadu by providing 10.5 per cent reservation (to Vanniyars),” Rajeshwaran says in the video being overpowered by the Personal Security Officer (PSO) of the former chief minister who snatched his mobile phone.
Another video shared widely on social media showed AIADMK men, who were waiting at the terminal building to welcome Palaniswami, roughing up Rajeshwaran who is seen telling them, “I just spoke the truth.”
It is learnt that Rajeshwaran was returning to Madurai from Singapore via Chennai on the flight in which Palaniswami also travelled. He shouted slogans after he found that the AIADMK interim general secretary was also travelling on the same bus.
In a complaint to the Avaniyapuram police, Rajeshwaran alleged that Palaniswami’s PSO snatched his “expensive phone” while he was on Facebook Live. As Rajeshwaran didn’t come out of the airport till 4 pm, cadres of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam run by Sasikala’s nephew T T V Dhinakaran held a protest.
He was allowed to leave the airport with a condition that he should appear for an inquiry if any complaint is filed against him by AIADMK. Palaniswami was elected as leader of the AIADMK Legislature Party on February 14, 2017, in the presence of Sasikala after she was convicted by the Supreme Court in a disproportionate assets (DA) case.
However, he refused to entertain Sasikala after she came out of the prison in 2021.