Did Jayalalithaa have to go the way she did, and why?
The Government of India may have to order a high level probe into the cause/s behind the death of former TN CM Jayaram Jayalalithaa. This is in the backdrop of unconfirmed reports circulating in the social media that, she was being slowly poisoned to death by someone close to her.
Jayalalithaa’s last, major public function was the Independence Day parade held at Fort Saint George in Chennai on August 15, where she took the salute during a march past by the military and State Police. She hoisted the national tri- colour and gave away CM’s Prizes to meritorious civil servants. But she was looking very ill on that occasion. It was with difficulty she took each step and looked like she could fall any time. Doordarshan, Chennai, the national broadcaster’s regional service had telecast live visuals of the Parade, and it is clear from the pictures that Jayalalithaa was ill.
On September 22, Jayalalithaa inaugurated the metro rail service between the airport and a nearby station, through video conferencing from her office at Fort Saint George. “She looked very ill on that day. I was doubting whether she could last the function,” a senior official who had watched her attending to the function, told the Sunday Times.
Why she was not taken to a hospital during the period between August 15 and September 22, is a question which needs to be answered by people supposed to take care of Jayalalithaa. The truth is that, her residence Veda Nilayam in Chennai’s Poes Garden, had been completely taken over by the relatives and associates of Sasikala Natarajan, her live-in companion. The house was as good as a fortress, with no admission for any outsiders. As to who the people living inside Veda Nilayam were, remains a mystery. How Natarajan, (Sasikala’s husband) managed to infiltrate into the house, in spite of him being declared a 'persona non grata' by Jayalalithaa, is a mystery.
No relatives of Jayalalithaa were allowed any- where near the Poes Garden, even when she was alive. Jayalalithaa's last rites were performed by Sasikala who was assisted by Deepak, Jayalalithaa’s nephew. But the national tri-colour with which Jayalalithaa’s body had been draped, while it lay in state, was handed over to Sasikala, instead of any blood relatives of the late CM, which proved that the Mannargudi Mafia had extended its reach all over the party, as well as the State administration.
There has been no official announcement about the ailments of the late CM. She was on ventilator support for most part of her hospital stay. The hospital releases never revealed the true status of her medical condition, other than in medical terms which could not be comprehended by the common man. The only time the hospital authorities announced her condition in layman’s language was late Sunday evening, when she had a cardiac arrest.
Till the central government in New Delhi orders a thorough probe into the circumstances surrounding her death, TN would see many unanswered questions and unasked queries lingering on the landscape of State politics. At the time of going to press, news was trickling in that Sasikala Natarajan is all set to become the new General Secretary of the AIADMK… the new Chinnamma of TN!