Senior AIADMK leader D Jayakumar on Saturday condemned BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai for his "Jayalalithaa was a far superior Hindutva leader" remark and said the late party supremo 'Amma' had been a leader of people belonging to all faiths.
Confidante of Jayalalithaa, V K Sasikala, said Annamalai's comment showed his 'ignorance' and his 'flawed understanding' of the former chief minister.
Jayakumar, a former minister during the previous AIADMK regime, said Jayalalithaa equally regarded people belonging to all religions and she had been a leader of people of all faiths.
The AIADMK leader condemned Annamalai, alleging the BJP leader made that comment eyeing political mileage and to create an identity for himself in Tamil Nadu by adding a Hindutva tag to Amma and this was a wanton act to bring disrepute to her.
When Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992, Jayalalithaa, as Chief Minister ensured peace and implemented a slew of schemes for the welfare of minorities, such as free rice to mosques during the fasting month of Ramzan and financial assistance to Christians in order to support them to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Jayakumar said in a statement.
"She had been firm in making no comprosmises in respecting the religious beliefs of people belonging to all faiths and in protecting them all." Amma's legacy of being an unparalleled leader of people belonging to all religions will continue to be part of Tamil Nadu's history, Jayakumar added.
Sasikala said Jayalalithaa transcended barriers of castes and religions and she was a great leader who was respected by all sections of the society. She was the only leader who was regarded as their own by all the people, be it Hindus, Muslims or Christians and such a tall leader cannot be brought under a specific, narrow tag, she said in a post on 'X'.
On May 23, in an interview to PTI, Annamalai had said, "...till Jayalalithaaji was alive, she was a far superior Hindutva leader than anybody in Tamil Nadu. Pre-2014, when you have a party like the BJP and Jayalalithaa as a leader the natural choice of a Hindu voter would be Jayalalithaa, who displayed her Hindu identity openly."
The BJP is filling the void in Tamil Nadu politics left by the death of AIADMK supremo and former chief minister Jayalalithaa, Annamalai had said.
