Photo by R Ramesh Shankar

Panneerselvam says he was forced to resign from TN chief minister’s post

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister O Paneerselvam on Tuesday night said he was forced to resign from the post and said a person who can keep the good name of Amma should be chosen (as CM).Addressing reporters outside MGR Memorial, where former chief minister J Jayalalithaa was buried, Paneerselvam, who submitted his resignation on Sunday after AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala was elected as legislature party leader, said he would withdraw his resignation if people, party men and MLAs wanted it.He made a case of how he had kept the good name through his action during cyclone Vardah, jallikattu protest and oil spill.“They (Sasikala camp) were upset over my government’s pro-active work in the aftermath of cyclone Vardah,” he said.He said a few days before the demise of Jayalalithaa, he had been told that party presidium chairman E Madhusudhanan should be made general secretary. “I opposed, it,” he said.“Health minister C Vijayabaskar asked me to propose Sasikala’s name for party general secretary, and I did after consulting senior ministers,” Panneerselvam said.Later, several leaders, ministers started demanding that Sasikala be the chief minister. “All these made me lose peace. I was humiliated as ministers selected by me were making calls to make another person as CM. I have been patient so far. I was informed about legislature party meeting and MLAs were made to sign electing Sasikala as leader of the legislature party.”Paneerselvam reached the MGR Memorial on Marina, where late chief minister J Jayalalithaa was buried, around 9pm.He sat down in front of Jayalalithaa’s burial site and closed his eyes. His meditative pose continued for around 40 minutes, leaving his security detail and party workers clueless.Around 9.40pm, he stood up walked around the grave. Later, he started speaking to mediapersons.READ ALSO: Official and unofficial Twitter handles had prior info