In a second such decision in the past 2 months, TN CM and AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa has suspended key party leader, presumably over a TV interview which did not sit well with the stand of the party on various issues. Nanjil Sampath, who was the deputy secretary of propaganda of the party and had recently defected from MDMK to the AIADMK after spending several years as a key Vaiko aide, has been removed from his post.
Although the one-line terse press release announcing his removal from the party post did not explain the reason for his removal, it is strongly believed that the removal was due to a TV interview as the decision came just hours after it was aired. In December, a former IPS officer who had joined AIADMK, R Natraj, was removed from the party. His suspension was later revoked as he had never spoken to the channel and it was an activist with the same name.
In an interview to Puthiya Thalaimurai which was aired on Saturday, Nanjil Sampath is said to have taken-off on his former boss Vaiko without compunction. He said that the People’s Welfare Alliance, of which Vaiko’s MDMK is a key part, was not important and that there was no party left in MDMK. This comes days after Jayalalithaa stating in her address to party workers that the party is open to alliance talks. Sources say that Sampath’s attack on the PWA was not appreciated by the party high command and it is likely to be the main reason why Sampath got the boot.
He also made other gaffes in the interview. When asked why Jayalalithaa did not go to meet flood-affected people in Tamil Nadu, he said that she could not go as she was unwell. So far there was no official statement from the AIADMK on this.
Another remark which is said to have cost him his job is his response to why the AIADMK council meeting recently was held with such pomp. He said that the impact of the flood was not there anymore, that people were not suffering anymore and that just because there was a death in a house, it does not mean there will be no marriage in the neighbour’s house.
He also said that the government will start appointing archakas following the recent SC verdict, and that Rajiv Gandhi assassin Perarivalan will be released by TN government. These statements were reportedly not vetted by the party high command.
Sampath also gave an interview to Thanthi TV which was aired later yesterday, in which asked whether elephants would stop walking because ants would be trampled, when asked about AIADMK’s giant party meet.
Corrections: Grammatical errors have been corrected