Jaya suffers cardiac arrest, back in critical care unit

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa was readmitted to the critical care unit (CCU) of Chennai’s Apollo Hospital after she suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday evening. Her condition stabilised later, sources said, but anxious supporters rushed to the hospital and broke through police barricades.

The 68-year-old AIADMK supremo was readmitted to the CCU shortly after the party announced she had been given a clean bill of health by a team of specialists. “Doctors from AIIMS visited the hospital on Saturday, and after examining her health, they shared the good news with us that she has completely recovered,” AIADMK spokesperson C Ponnaiyan told reporters earlier in the day.

Jayalalithaa was put on an extracorporeal membrane heart-assist device and was being treated by a team of critical care special- ists. Additional police personnel were deployed at Greams Lane outside the hospital, which eventually filled up with AIADMK supporters. Nine CRPF companies were on standby to avert any law and order problems though reinforcements had not been sought from the Centre till midnight. The party maintained that Amma – as the six-time chief minister is reverently known among her supporters – was completely fine.

Tamil Nadu governor C Vidyasagar Rao arrived in Chennai around 11pm and discussed Jayalalithaa’s health situation with home minister Rajnath Singh. President Pranab Mukherjee and political leaders across the country wished the chief minister a speedy recovery.