AIADMK leader seeks Stalin’s help to restart probe into amma’s death

In a social media post on Friday, AIADMK’s three-time MP V Maitreyan asked chief minister M K Stalin to vacate a Supreme Court stay on investigating Jayalalithaa’s death. He cited DMK’s election promise to fast track the investigations.

Amid the ongoing slugfest over the Kodanad heist and murder case, a senior leader of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has brought up another sensitive case – the probe into J Jayalalithaa’s hospitalisation and death.

In August 2017, a one-man Justice Arumugasamy commission was set up to probe Jayalalithaa’s death. (AFP)

In a social media post on Friday, AIADMK’s three-time MP V Maitreyan asked chief minister M K Stalin to vacate a Supreme Court stay on investigating Jayalalithaa’s death. He cited DMK’s election promise to fast track the investigations. “Every cadre will be relieved if a decision (from the investigation) comes that there was no mystery surrounding her death.”

In August 2017, a one-man Justice Arumugasamy commission was set up to probe Jayalalithaa’s death. The commission examined more than 100 witnesses, including bureaucrats, politicians, doctors and nurses from Chennai’s Apollo hospital, where the late AIADMK supremo was admitted for two and a half months. Jayalalithaa died in December 2016.

Following her death, factions emerged in the AIADMK and close confidante V K Sasikala, meant to take over the reins, was imprisoned in February 2017, with the Supreme Court convicting her in the disproportionate assets case. O Panneerselvam had rebelled against Sasikala, so she picked Edappadi Palaniswami to be a chief minister while she was going to be away in jail for four years. But Palaniswami and Panneerselvam merged their factions, and one of the conditions laid down by Panneersevam to do so was to conduct a probe into Jayalalithaa’s death. But so far, Panneerselvam hasn’t deposed before the commission.

The commission has been embroiled in controversies and has had several extensions to its tenure. Apollo Hospitals, accusing the commission of being biased, went to the Supreme Court challenging the constitution of the commission. In April 2019, the top court stayed further inquiry. The commission has been idle since then.

Maiteryan added that he was aware that the DMK government was taking steps to resume the commission’s probe since 90% of the work was complete and sought the chief minister’s help to get the stay vacated and finish the commission’s probe at the earliest.

However, this isn’t the first time that Maitreyan, who was propped by Jayalalithaa and has a sourced relationship with AIADMK’s present dual leader of Palaniswami and Panneerselvam, is making such a demand. In 2017, he demanded that the Union government order a probe either by the CBI or by an SIT, or a judicial inquiry into her death.