I resigned due to threats, pressure from Sasikala, others: Panneerselvam

He also expressed his intentions to withdraw resignation if the cadres and public want it

O Panneerselvam, who had on Sunday resigned as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, on Tuesday said he was forced to do so by AIADMK General Secretary V K Sasikala, her family members, senior ministers and other party members.

He said he would withdraw his resignation if the cadres and public wanted him to. Immediately after his comments, senior ministers and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) members rushed to the Poes Garden residence of the late party chief, J Jayalalithaa, where Sasikala is based.

“They compelled me to resign,” Panneerselvam told reporters on Tuesday night.

Governor C Vidyasagar Rao had on Monday accepted his resignation. Sasikala’s swearing-in ceremony was due to happen in a day or two. But voices of discontent had come up on Tuesday with party veteran H Pandian saying Sasikala should not be made the party chief or the chief minister.

Panneerselvam brought the revolt out in the open at around 10 pm, before which he meditated for nearly 40 minutes at Jayalalithaa’s memorial on the Marina Beach. He told reporters he was not aware of the meeting of the members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) on Sunday. “I want to reveal some truths to the people and the members of the party. Amma’s aatma (soul) has urged me to do so. For the past five to six days, I was busy overseeing measures to clear the oil spill (at the Ennore Port). Suddenly I was called to the Poes Garden residence, where Chinnaamma (as Sasikala is called), her family members, senior ministers and party members were also there.”

Here, he claimed, he was told that Sasikala should be made the chief minister soon. “I asked them what was the need to do it at this point, and debated for about two hours.”

The reply, he said, was that a meeting of MLAs had been called and everything had been decided. “I told them it was a great insult to me. They held my hand and asked me to save the party. I said I want to go to Amma’s memorial and tell her that I was resigning. But they did not allow me to do so,” he alleged.

AIADMK spokesperson Nanjil Sampath said there was a conspiracy behind Panneerselvam’s actions and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was behind it.