Madurai, Oct 29 (PTI) Expelled AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala hogged the limelight on Friday when she made a public appearance here to pay floral tributes to the legendary icon Muthuramalinga Thevar ahead of his jayanthi celebrations tomorrow.Also, she paid tributes to the Marudu Pandiyar brothers who defied the British rulers.Sasikala who arrived at Goripalayam here in a vehicle resembling late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s poll campaign vehicle, garlanded the life-sized bronze statue of Muthuramalinga Thevar.Her loyalists raised slogans hailing the “Chinnamma” as she is known. She enjoys considerable support from the community.The Thevar jayanthi is annually celebrated on October 30 in a grand manner and leaders of various political parties pay their tributes on the occasion.Sasikala later left for Theppakulam here and paid tributes to the statue of Marudhu brothers, who had ruled towards the end of 18th century. The brothers were hanged by the British from a tamarind tree in Tirupattur.After maintaining a low profile during the Assembly elections, announcing to quit politics, Sasikala stoked a political controversy earlier this month when she unveiled a plaque which referred to her as AIADMK’s general secretary, as part of the party’s golden jubilee celebrations. The AIADMK preferred a complaint with the police seeking action on her for claiming to be general secretary which she was not in reality since her expulsion.Her tour of the southern districts and also to make her presence felt during the Thevar jayanthi is seen by her supporters as her strategy to consolidate her position before staging a come back. PTI JSP ROH ROH