Responding to a question on whether Sasikala’s early release will have any impact on AIADMK, the CM said: “You tell us what changes will happen. As far as we are concerned, no changes will happen.”
(Photo credits: Hardly Anonymous)
Chief minister Edappdy K Palaniswami on Thursday said V K Sasikala’s release from Parappana Agrahara Jail in Bengaluru would not have any impact on AIADMK.
His comment comes as Sasikala’s lawyers have started the process of depositing a fine of Rs 10 crore on her behalf in the court, to facilitate her early release from prison.
Sasikala, closest aid of late AIADMK chief minister J Jayalalithaa, has been serving her four-year sentence in prison since February 2017 after she was convicted in the Disproportionate Assets case.
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Responding to a question on whether Sasikala’s early release will have any impact on AIADMK, the CM said: “You tell us what changes will happen. As far as we are concerned, no changes will happen.”
According to an RTI reply provided to Bengaluru-based lawyer and activist Narasimha Murthy, Sasikala is likely to be released from the prison in January 2021 if she paid a fine of Rs 10 crore. Otherwise, her release date could be pushed to February 2022.
Most political observers dismiss Sasikala as a political force which could topple the hold Edappdy has over the party. But the fact is Sasikala had chosen Palaniswami to take over as CM when the AIADMK split into two factions after Jayalalithaa’s demise.
With the wealth and power she is still holding, Sasikala could spell a doom for Edappdy and team, say some close confidants and political analysts.
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