DMK MLA Poongothai Aladi Aruna’s alleged suicide attempt has caused a jolt in the party with several senior leaders rushing to visit her in the hospital.
The DMK MLA from Alangudi constituency in Tenkasi, was admitted to a private hospital in Tirunelveli on Thursday morning under mysterious circumstances.
She is said to have taken a high dosage of sleeping pills allegedly over the harassment meted out to her during the booth committee meeting held in Tenkasi district.
Poongothai Aladi Aruna, has been one of the key figures of the DMK in Tirunelveli-Tenkasi region since the Karunanidhi era. She is close to the party’s women’s wing secretary and Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi as well as Rajathi Ammal (later former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s concubine).
But of late, Poongothai was not to be seen in many of the events in which Kanimozhi was a participant.
For the past few years, a cold war has been brewing between Poongothai and Siva Padmanabhan who was in charge of the integrated Tirunelveli west. His recent appointment as district in-charge of Tirunelveli south had upset Poongothai and her supporters. He is said to be a supporter of MK Stalin.
In light of this, Poongothai who had gone to participate in the DMK booth committee meeting held at Thirumalaiyappapuram near Kadayam in Tenkasi district was given an unwelcoming reception. She was not given a chair to sit on the dais. DMK Kadayam Union Secretary Kumar had a war of words with her stating that she neither participated in party meetings nor took part in joys and sorrows of DMK cadres of the region.
Later, Poongothai sat on the ground in protest, the video of which became viral. The DMK men present in the meeting had asked her if she was here to foment trouble. She fell at the feet of the men present there and asked them to go on with their meeting. Not able to bear the insult meted out to her, she left the meeting before it ended.
The next day, she was admitted to the hospital in an unconscious state. Media reports stated that she had tried to commit suicide by taking an overdose of sleeping pills due to the internal squabbles that had happened earlier.
Following this, Tirunelveli East District DMK Secretary Avudaiappan, former MLA
Mana M. Appavu and other officials visited the hospital and inquired about her health. Appavu had stated that reports about her attempt to suicide were not true and that Poongothai fell unconscious suddenly while doing exercise in the morning.
DMK Rajya Sabha MP R.S. Bharathi too visited the hospital to inquire about her health. He too dismissed reports of Poongothai attempting suicide due to the internal rift in the party. He said that she had a long-standing feud with one of her brothers who was present on the stage that day in the meeting and noted it as a ‘family dispute’.
Currently she is being treated in the ICU with her vitals remaining satisfactory.
(Inputs taken from The Hindu Tamil, Kathir News and The New Minute)