J Jayalalithaa 11th 'avatar' of Lord Vishnu, says AIADMK MLA Mariappan Kennedy

Chennai: At a time when Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK is witnessing a bitter struggle for power between the O Panneerselvam and Edappadi Palaniswami-led camps, one of its MLAs on Thursday said that the late former general secretary of the party, J Jayalalithaa, was actually an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

According to a Times Now report, Mariappan Kennedy, an AIADMK lawmaker, today compared late Jayalalithaa with Lord Vishnu and said that the departed leader was in fact the 11th 'avatar' of the deity.

Kennedy, while referring to Jayalalithaa as the 11th reincarnation of Lord Vishnu, also said that VK Sasikala is her replacement and her corruption-accused nephew TTV Dinakaran a 'guiding light' for the AIADMK.

The AIADMK MLA reportedly made these remarks while participating in a debate in the Tamil Nadu Assembly today.

Kennedy represents the Manamadurai assembly constituency.

Leaders from the Opposition benches, however, objected to his remarks and urged the Speaker to expunge his statement from the official records.

His remarks came on a day when both O Panneerselvam and Edappadi Palaniswami-led camps are due to file affidavits before the poll panel to stake claim to the AIADMK's frozen ''two leaves'' symbol.