MK Stalin vows to unravel 'mystery' behind Jayalalithaa's death, bring to book those involved

Chennai: DMK leader MK Stalin on Tuesday vowed to unravel the “mystery” behind the death of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in December last year and bring to book anyone found involved, as he claimed that the AIADMK government would not last long and his party would return to power. He said this while canvassing for DMK candidate N Maruthu Ganesh on the last day of the campaign for the 21 December bypoll to RK Nagar Assembly constituency, represented by Jayalalithaa twice. [caption id=“attachment_3884067” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of MK Stalin. PTI[/caption] Stalin said there was a “mystery on how Jayalalithaa passed away and what kind of (medical) treatment was provided” to her during her 75-day hospitalisation, as he dismissed as an “eyewash” the inquiry ordered by the state government into her death. He asserted the K Palaniswamy government would fall once the court delivered its verdict in pending cases (related to the disqualification of 18 rebel AIADMK MLAs and the DMK’s plea for action against deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam and his loyalist MLAs for voting against the chief minister). Asserting that the DMK would storm to power subsequently, he said its first job would be to find out who was responsible for Jayalalithaa’s death. “The first job of the DMK rule will be to find out who is responsible for Jayalalithaa’s death and lock them up in prison,” Stalin, the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, said. The bypoll is being held to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Jayalalithaa on 5 December last year. The state government-appointed one-man commission of inquiry has already began its probe into the circumstances leading to the hospitalisation of Jayalalithaa on 22 September, 2016 and treatment provided till her demise. The commission, headed by retired high court judge A Arumughaswamy, has invited all those having “personal knowledge and direct acquaintance” in the matter to furnish information to it. Following Jayalalithaa’s death, suspicion over the circumstances leading to her demise were raised by several persons, including Panneerselvam and his followers. A probe into her death was one of the key demands made by his group for its merger with the Palaniswamy-led faction, which eventually took place in August this year. Stalin also said though RK Nagar was a “VIP constituency” there was “no indication” of it on the ground. He questioned what development works had been taken up by the AIADMK government in the constituency.