MLA’s visit to Poes Garden triggers speculations

Initially, party’s senior functionaries, MLAs and MPs trooped to Poes Garden to persuade ‘Chinnamma’ to take over the reins of the party by becoming its general secretary. Then, there have been calls various wings of the party urging her to take over as chief minister also. Even as Sasikala is yet to make public her decision regarding both the posts, leaders and functionaries of the party continue to visit Veda Nilayam seeking to accept their request.

A former MLA said, “In such a scenario, the diktat to Vriddachalam MLA VT Kalaiselvan to come to the garden on Thursday has left party men puzzled, whether Sasikala is planning to seek election from that constituency.” In the 2016 polls, Kalaiselvan won over his DMK rival P Gopalsamy by a margin of 17, 333 votes. 

The former MLA said, “Advisors to Sasikala are considering the fact that DMDK leader Vijayakanth, a new entrant to politics, won from this constituency, the lone seat for his party, in the 2006 polls. In the subsequent election in 2011, the DMDK won 29 of the 41 seats it contested and secured a higher number of seats than the DMK. As a result, Vijayakanth became the Leader of Opposition, a post equal to the rank of a Cabinet Minister, in the Assembly as his party emerged the second largest party in the House during that term.” 

Citing these factors, the exMLA said that Sasikala might consider Vridhachalam as a lucky constituency to start her political career. Political analyst T. George said that such a possibility could not be ruled out. “Sasikala may ask Kalaiarasan to resign the seat in her favour and if so he will oblige, as it is always a quid pro quo arrangement. When Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy needed to win an election to retain his post, the MLA of Nellithope A John Kumar quit the seat for the ex-union minister. Narayanasamy contested and won the seat recently,” he pointed out.

DMK Treasurer and Leader of the Opposition MK Stalin expressed shock over Vice-Chancellors of staterun Universities, calling on former CM J Jayalalithaa’s close-aide VK Sasikala and urged Tamil Nadu Governor Vidyasagar Rao to remove them from their posts for belittling the autonomous status of the varsities.

In a letter to the Governor, copies of which were released by the DMK here, Stalin cited a report in a newspaper “VCs of State Universities meet Sasikala, trigger controversy” that appeared on December 21. Stalin, referring to the media report, wanted the Governor to arraign the Vice Chancellors of more than ten Universities to protect the interest of higher education. 

“Academicians, who are the torch bearers of higher education in the state, calling on a person, who is not holding any public office, is unethical, unwarranted and unconstitutional. Such attitude on the part of Vice-chancellors prove that their loyalty is neither for the academic excellence of the state nor for the Chancellor of the Universities,” he said. 

Stalin said, the Governor, as Chancellor of Universities, should initiate appropriate action under the relevant rules and regulations of their service conditions and remove them from the post of Vice Chancellors and to effectively prevent politicisation of the office of the VCs and belittling the dignity of the autonomous status of the universities in the State in order to ensure ‘quality higher education’ to the youngsters.