TN Forest Minister says 'all ministers had lied about Jayalalithaa's health'

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 23 (ANI): Tamil Nadu Forest Minister Dindigul Sreenivasan on Saturday revealed that all ministers of the state had lied to the people about hospitalisation and death of state's former Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa at Chennai's Apollo Hospital last year and revealed that only once a closest confidant of Jayalalithaa, VK Sasikala and her family had access to see Amma.

During a public meeting at Madurai, Sreenivasan said, "Jayalalithaa brought AIADMK as third largest party of India. Sasikala said so many things to make you believe she is healthy but truth is no one had seen her. Only VK Sasikala and her family had access to see Amma, rest no one was allowed."

He further said, "In order to make you believe in Jayalalithaa's health, we have uttered so many things like she ate idly, she drank water etc. To tell you frankly, nobody saw her. This is truth. He saw, she saw, etcetera were nothing at all. Just we would go till upstairs, bow down then we would return. Forgive me my party workers, but all of us ministers lied before you when we said Amma is alright."

He also stated that Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi came to visit Jayalalithaa, but they were allowed only to meet Sasikala and doctors.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi was supposed to come within a week when Amma was hospitalised. Then Arun Jaitley ,Venkaiya Naidu, Rahul Gandhi came to visit Jayalalithaa, but they were allowed only to meet Sasikala and doctors. Had they been left to meet Jayalalithaa, she would have told them what is being done to her" he claimed.

Meanwhile, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President M. K. Stalin said that the Tamil Nadu Government announced probe into Jayalalithaa's death but it has not started yet.

"Although Tamil Nadu Government announced probe into Jayalalithaa's death but it has not started yet," he said.

Reportedly, last week, Sreenivasan had also said that VK Sasikala was responsible for former's death.

Jayalalithaa passed away on the night of December 5, 2016 after spending 75 days in Apollo Hospitals, Chennai in critical condition. (ANI)