Sasikala Pushpa, sacked by AIADMK, broke down in Parliament saying she feared for her life
Highlights
- Sasikala Pushpa breaks down in Parliament, sacked by AIADMK
- 'I was slapped, need protection,' Ms Pushpa says in Rajya Sabha
- Ms Pushpa was in a brawl with DMK MP at Delhi airport on Saturday
"Will the government save me? I need protection" - Tamil Nadu lawmaker Sasikala Pushpa wept as she made the stunning declaration in Parliament on Monday, moments before her AIADMK announced that she had been sacked for embarrassing the party.
Ms Pushpa said in the Rajya Sabha: "If a leader can slap an MP... Where is human dignity? In Tamil Nadu I have no safety. I am being compelled to resign from a parliamentary post by my leader."
Stopped by Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien from naming anyone who is not a member of the house, the 40-year-old MP told NDTV later: "(Chief Minister) Jayalalithaa did this."
On cue was a statement from the AIADMK. Ms Pushpa has been sacked for "bringing great disrepute to the party," said the chief minister, who commands fear and reverence among her party leaders.
Though she insists she has been targeted for a long time, Ms Pushpa is apparently suffering the consequences of her nasty brawl this weekend with an MP of the rival DMK, Trichy Siva, at the Delhi airport, which resulted in both being banned from their flight.
The lawmakers were at the security check for the same flight when they got into a fight. No one knows what started it but one moment the two were arguing in Tamil and the next, they were raining blows on each other.
Ms Pushpa claimed she had reacted to Mr Siva abusing Jayalalithaa, but had apologized to him too. "Why am I being forced to resign? I will not quit," she said.
The lawmaker says she met Jayalalithaa last night before she came to Delhi. She alleged: "They forced me to write a resignation letter and sign it. They harassed me and did not even let me go to my Chennai house to refresh myself. They are not allowing my family to speak to me. They have snatched my phone. I have much gratitude for them but the way they have treated me..."
Now that she has been expelled with four years left in her Rajya Sabha tenure, Ms Pushpa becomes an unattached MP who can join or support any party.