On a day that she called a much-hyped press conference on the birth centenary of MGR, Jayalalithaa’s niece Deepa Jayakumar today re-announced her ‘debut’ into Tamil Nadu politics. Deepa said nothing she hasn’t already, and announced that she will make an announcement on her late aunt’s birthday anniversary. So what was the purpose of calling the press conference?
“This itself is a big announcement because all these days, everything was based on facts and rumours but now I have clearly stated that I’m going to be in politics,” Deepa said. In an interview to TNM, the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s niece claimed that until now, it was being portrayed that she was ‘undecided’ and unable to make decisions.
While it was expected that Deepa might announce a new political outfit at her press conference on Tuesday, her media appearance was also keenly watched because of the political buzz around her. There are rumours that she is being propped up by the RSS to counter AIADMK general secretary Sasikala. In fact, Sasikala’s husband Natarajan has accused RSS ideologue Gurumurthy of pitting Brahmins against Dravidians. “Auditor Gurumurthy is spearheading the conspiracy of Brahmins against Dravidians. I am not accusing all Brahmins of conspiracy but 10% of them are plotting to saffronize the state,” Natarajan said.
Deepa for her part is rubbishing these theories. “All these are rumours and they are not to believed. Whatever I do will be for the people of Tamil Nadu, my participation in public life will be for the welfare of Tamil people and Tamil Nadu in the first place,” she said.
“I want to make my decision on a very special day as I’m going to be in the political arena and following her footsteps. I only wanted to use the time and opportunity to consult cadres and the people. They are very important to me,” Deepa told TNM.
But even as Deepa denies that she’s employing deliberate delaying tactics, speculations are rife that she is bargaining with the Sasikala-led AIADMK. Outwardly, though, there’s no love lost between the two. “I was not in touch with her for the last 14 or 15 years and I intentionally kept away and I do not think there is any necessity to work with her,” Deepa said.
When asked about Sasikala’s brother Dhivaharan’s claim that Natarajan saved the party after MGR, and it was their party that helped Jayalalithaa become the opposition leader and subsequently the Chief Minister, Deepa says, “All these are false statements and there are no evidences about it. Years ago, Jayalalithaa had told me that all her decisions were solely taken by herself.”