Annamalai calls Jayalalithaa a ‘Hindutva leader’; Sasikala, AIADMK fire back: ‘She had faith in God, no religious beliefs’

“When you consider BJP as a party, and Jayalalithaa as a leader, and when both of them co-exist, the natural choice of a Hindu voter would be Jayalalithaa — I am talking about a period before 2014. She used to display her ‘Hinduness’ openly. She may be the first politician in our country, outside BJP, to say that ‘if you don’t build Ram temple in India, are you going to build it in Pakistan’? A lady who brought anti-conversion law in the 2002-03 period, who donated liberally to temples, contested from Srirangam, who took efforts to revive the temple in a big way, getting elephants to major temples. If you look at her activity as a persona, she was a far superior Hindutva leader,” Annamalai said in a video he posted on social media.

The remark immediately drew criticism from Sasikala, the close aide of Jayalalithaa who lived with her for about 25 years and actively participated in all major political decisions taken by the AIADMK leader. Sasikala said Jayalalithaa was an “unparalleled Dravidian leader of Tamil Nadu soil… a revolutionary leader, Amma!” She said Annamalai’s statement reveals his ignorance and misunderstanding about Jayalalithaa.

“Amma (as Jayalalithaa was called by her followers) had faith in God, but she never had religious beliefs. She was the only unparalleled leader who treated everyone equally throughout her life… I would like to state at this moment that no one can confine such a distinguished leader to any narrow bounds,” Sasikala said. “Amma transcended caste, religion, and divisions, and was revered and admired by people from all walks of life throughout her life.”

AIADMK leader D Jayakumar also criticised Annamalai “for defaming Amma by portraying her as a sectarian leader”.

“When the Babri Masjid was demolished, violent incidents occurred in many states across the country. It was Amma who ensured Tamil Nadu remained a land of peace without any violence,” said Jayakumar.