Sasikala Pushpa, suspended Rajya Sabha MP of AIADMK, claims that the late chief-minister J. Jayalalithaa had decided to make her the party’s next general secretary.

It may be recalled that Sasikala Pushpa and her DMK counterpart in the Upper House Trichy Siva had a heated altercation at Delhi Airport last July after which she slapped the latter. On getting to know this, Jayalalithaa reportedly summoned Sasikala to Poes Garden, kept her in ‘house-arrest’ for two days before slapping and telling her to behave properly in public. Later, Sasikala revealed all this in the Rajya Sabha.

She garnered national attention when she requested the Rajya Sabha chairman to arrange for round-the-clock police protection to her. Speaking to newsmen yesterday in Delhi, she said that she had taken on adoption Gorampallam Vilalge in Turicorin; this makes me visit Tamil Nadu at least once in a fortnight as I’m arranging for potable drinking water, road facilities and other things.

“Though Edapadi and OPS seem to be neglecting Sasikala who is at Parappana Agrahara prison in Bangalore, they are very much in touch with her, making the people and the party cadres fools. I alone can lead the party in the present juncture. Sasikala’s family got to know of Jayalalithaa’s decision to promote me as the next party chief and did everything to stop it,” Saiskala Pushpa concludes.

On another note, she added that if Amrutha was found to be Jayalalithaa’s daughter, she was ready to accept the latter’s leadership.