Sidelined AIADMK leader V.K. Sasikala, out of jail on a five-day parole , on October 7 visited her husband M. Natarajan who is recovering at a hospital in Chennai after undergoing liver and kidney transplants.
Sasikala met Mr. Natarajan and was with him for about two hours in the hospital, sources said. Later, she returned to her niece Krishnapriya’s residence in the city.
The beleaguered AIADMK leader’s car briefly halted in front of a Ganesha temple in Kotturpuram and she prayed from inside the vehicle as used to be done by late AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa.
Also read: Controversies surrounding Sasikala after Jayalalithaa's death
Sasikala’s low profile visit to hospital was in stark contrast to her public appearances prior to her incarceration in February. During her days before being imprisoned, she used to be surrounded by partymen and loyalists raising slogans praising her as “Chinnamma”.
Sasikala has been lodged in the Parapana Agrahara central jail since February after the Supreme Court upheld her conviction by a special court in a disproportionate assets case. Her relatives Ilavarasi and V.N. Sudhakaran are also serving four-year jail terms in the case. Facing tough parole conditions, Sasikala refrained from visiting partymen or interacting with them during the hospital visit .
The hospital, meanwhile, said in a statement that Mr. Natarajan is recovering and he is “awake and oriented and is on ventilator support through tracheostomy, which was performed on October 6”.
T.T.V. Dhinakaran loyalist and senior leader Nanjil Sampath said he saw Sasikala in the hospital and told her to pray. He said he asked Sasikala to recite ‘Sundara Kandam’ from the Ramayana “as it would bring her relief”.
Sasikala arrived in Chennai on October 6 from Parapana Agrahara after being granted parole.
