Chennai Mar 23 PTI The truth known to God has now come to peoples notice as well through AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam who deposed before an inquiry panel that he does not have suspicion on the circumstances related to late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaas death in 2016 according to her confidante V K Sasikala Sasikala said this to reporters on Wednesday when asked about Panneerselvams OPS deposition in this connection That truth has now come to the notice of people as well and there may be a delay but nobody could change or hide the truth she said On OPSs remark that he has respect and admiration for her Sasikala said He has spoken the truth On the lack of signals from the AIADMK top leadership seen as a reference to positive tidings on her being inducted again into the party while she has been visiting supporters she said she does not have any regret Following the death of AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran in 1987 Sasikala said Amma as Jayalalithaa was fondly addressed was alone since then The confidante said she did not give importance to the present stand of the AIADMK leadership Also she said cadres are the partys roots and hence they alone matter Though K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam together constitute the top leadership the former is seen to be having an upper hand and he is reportedly averse to the idea of re-admitting her into the party On March 22 OPS told the A Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry that personally he has no suspicion in connection with Jayalalithaas death In view of public opinion the AIADMK leader had said that he had demanded a probe into the circumstances surrounding the death When Sasikalas counsel Raja Senthoorpandian asked if he still held her in esteem at a personal level Pannerselvam answered that personally he had respect and admiration for Sasikala PTI VGN NVG NVG

Coimbatore Dec 22 PTI The Special Investigating Team SIT probing into the Kodanadu heist and murder case on Wednesday interrogated Vivek Jayaraman a close relative of late former Chief Minister Jayalalithas close aide Sasikala police said The team has already questioned more than 30 people including the manager of Kodanadu Estate in Nilgiris district The estate served as a retreat for Jayalalithaa where a watchman was murdered and a few documents reportedly stolen in 2017 The interrogation of Sasikalas kin for nearly three hours was part of the investigaton as he was said to have close connection with Kodanadu estate So far K V Sayan the prime accused in the case Natraj the estate manager and policemen who were on duty at the checkposts when the accused escaped after committing the offence have been quizzed The police teams have taken up the task to quiz more witnesses besides estate workers and other suspects It emerged during the probe that Jayalalithaas former driver C Kanagaraj and Sayan had allegedly plotted the crime A total of 10 people were arrested in the case and a charge sheet was also filed PTI NVM NVG NVG

New Delhi Dec 20 PTI The Supreme Court has directed the constitution of a medical board to assist a Commission of Inquiry set up to probe the death of then Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa at Apollo Hospitals in Chennai in 2016A bench comprising Justice S A Nazeer and Justice Krishna Murari asked the Director All India Institute of Medical Sciences AIIMS New Delhi to nominate a panel of doctors and specialists in the fields of treatment of the ailments as suffered by JayalalithaaWe are also of the view that it is just and proper to constitute a medical board to assist the commission in the disposal of the caseNeedless to say that the Commission has to furnish the said medical board so constituted with complete records of the proceedings The medical board so appointed is permitted to participate in all further proceedings of the commission and furnish a copy of the report to the commission the bench saidThe top court was hearing an appeal filed by Apollo Hospitals challenging the order of the Madras High Court which held that the commission can consider the appropriateness adequacy or inadequacy of the treatment given by the hospital based on available medical recordsThe high court had also held that it cannot interfere with the appointment of the Commission of Inquiry and direct the government to include professionals or experts on the board to assist the one-man Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice Thiru A ArumughaswamyThe top court in its recent order further said it was the view that it is just and proper for the Commission to furnish the documents the depositions and the records as available in the records on an application to be made by the hospital and expelled AIADMK leader V K SasikalaAppellant-Hospital is also permitted to make an appropriate application seeking permission to cross-examinerecall of any witness or individual including those witnesses whose evidence has since been closed and also lead its own evidenceIf such an application is filed we request the commission to consider the same and pass appropriate orders thereon the bench saidThe Madras High Court had on April 4 2019 rejected Apollo Hospitals objections to an inquiry commission set up to probe the death of Jayalalithaa looking into aspects of treatment given to herAs mandated by its terms of reference the Justice A Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry was empowered and entitled to go into the appropriateness efficacy adequacy or inadequacy of the treatment given to Jayalalithaa during her 75-day hospitalisation in 2016 it saidThe AIADMK-led state government had set up the inquiry commission to look into circumstances leading to the death of Jayalalithaa on December 5 2016 at Apollo HospitalsThe government had set up the inquiry commission to look into circumstances leading to the death of the AIADMK supremo citing doubts expressed by various people PTI PKS NSD NSD

Chennai Dec 20 PTI A division bench of the Madras High Court on Monday reserved its orders on an appeal from the AIADMK challenging the November 24 ruling of a single judge who had set aside all the orders of the previous government on converting late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaas residence here into a memorial The bench of Justices Paresh Upadhyay and Sathi Kumar Sukumara Kurup reserved its orders after listening to brief arguments advanced by the senior counsel for petitioner -- AIADMK leader and former Law Minister and the partys Villupuram district secretary C Ve Shanmugham and Advocate-General R Shanmugasundaram The AG told the judges the present government did not choose to challenge the orders of the single judge as a division bench had held against the conversion on an earlier occasion This follows a submission from petitioners senior counsel A L Somayaji earlier that mere change in the government should not result in non-challenge to the orders of the single judge In his November 24 order Justice N Seshasayee had quashed all the orders passed from 2017 by the then AIADMK government which ultimately culminated in the taking over of the sprawling Poes Garden property in 2020 to convert it into a memorial which was inaugurated in January this year He had also observed there was no need for a second memorial in addition to the one on the Marina This would be a mere waste of public money No public interest would also be serviced he had saidThe appeal sought to quash the orders of the single judge after expunging all the remarks made by him PTI CORR SA BN BN

Madurai Oct 29 PTI Expelled AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala hogged the limelight on Friday when she made a public appearance here to pay floral tributes to the legendary icon Muthuramalinga Thevar ahead of his jayanthi celebrations tomorrowAlso she paid tributes to the Marudu Pandiyar brothers who defied the British rulersSasikala who arrived at Goripalayam here in a vehicle resembling late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaas poll campaign vehicle garlanded the life-sized bronze statue of Muthuramalinga ThevarHer loyalists raised slogans hailing the Chinnamma as she is known She enjoys considerable support from the communityThe Thevar jayanthi is annually celebrated on October 30 in a grand manner and leaders of various political parties pay their tributes on the occasionSasikala later left for Theppakulam here and paid tributes to the statue of Marudhu brothers who had ruled towards the end of 18th century The brothers were hanged by the British from a tamarind tree in TirupatturAfter maintaining a low profile during the Assembly elections announcing to quit politics Sasikala stoked a political controversy earlier this month when she unveiled a plaque which referred to her as AIADMKs general secretary as part of the partys golden jubilee celebrations The AIADMK preferred a complaint with the police seeking action on her for claiming to be general secretary which she was not in reality since her expulsionHer tour of the southern districts and also to make her presence felt during the Thevar jayanthi is seen by her supporters as her strategy to consolidate her position before staging a come back PTI JSP ROH ROH