A day after he sought public pardon, claiming he had lied about then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s health condition when she was in hospital, Forests Minister Dindigul C. Sreenivasan on Sunday said he had merely parroted to the media whatever her close aide V.K. Sasikala (now in jail) had asked him to say about her health.
Circumstances made them (AIADMK leaders) speak what they were briefed by Sasikala and her family members. “At that point of time, we just believed what we were told by them about Amma ’s health condition. Why I revealed it in Madurai [on Friday] was that at least now the people and the party cadre should know that we didn’t tell lies or mislead anybody and we simply repeated what Sasikala told us,” he said.
CCTV cameras in Apollo Hospitals would give clinching evidence as to who all had access to which floor/rooms, he said.
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When it was pointed out that DMK working president M.K. Stalin has sought a CBI probe, the Minister said, “We ourselves have ordered a probe [that would be headed] by a former High Court judge. Moreover, the plea made by the Opposition parties was not new as they have been insisting on it.”
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Meanwhile, Information Minister Kadambur Raju told reporters in Kovilpatti that it would be better to refrain from making any comments on Jayalalithaa’s death at this juncture as Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami had ordered a probe. “It is for the inquiry commission to act now. Until the observations are made public, it will be better to remain calm. Any person who has any information or evidence about the issue shall submit the same before the panel for examination,” he said.