Forest Minister Dindigul C. Sreenivasan on Tuesday issued a statement clarifying that he did not say that late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa looted public money, as reported in sections of media.
The Minister got into a controversy for his speech at a public meeting organised by the AIADMK at Vedasandur in Dindigul district on Monday, in which he allegedly said that Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran and his family siphoned off money that was illegally amassed by Jayalalithaa.
Denying this, Mr. Sreenivasan said in his statement that he only meant V.K. Sasikala, the jailed aide of Jayalalithaa and her family, which includes Mr. Dhinakaran, looted money without the knowledge of Jayalalithaa.
He added that Mr. Dhinakaran was running his party with this looted money.
“I did not say anything bad about Amma (Jayalalithaa). Everyone knows that I always remain loyal to her,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Dhinakaran has demanded the removal of Mr. Sreenivasan for having “sullied” the reputation of Jayalalithaa.
