Tamil Nadu leader critical

Supporters on edge

CHENNAI, India, Dec 5, (Agencies): The life of the leader of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu hung in the balance on Monday after she went into cardiac arrest, drawing large crowds to the hospital where doctors were fighting to save the hugely popular former actress.

Jayalalithaa Jayaraman went into cardiac arrest on Sunday night, the Apollo Hospital in the state capital Chennai said, her condition deteriorating sharply after her admission with a severe respiratory ailment in September.

On Monday, the hospital said she remained critical and on life support systems as authorities in the southern state increased security around Chennai to prevent her worried supporters from creating public disorder.

Popularly known as “Amma”, or “Mother” in the Tamil language, the 68-year-old was introduced to politics by her cinema screen partner, M.G. Ramachandran, another actorturned politician, and went on to serve as chief minister of Tamil Nadu five times.

Jayalalithaa remains hugely popular despite being jailed more than once for corruption.

The reclusive leader has run her party with an iron hand with no clear line of succession to govern a state that is home to major auto and IT outsourcing firms.

During her latest illness, her picture was put in a chair at the head of the table at state cabinet meetings.

About 2,000 policemen were deployed around the hospital in case emotional crowds of devoted supporters reacted strongly to further developments. Supporters have been known to commit suicide in reaction to bad news.

“Nothing can kill Amma,” said one man holding a picture of the leader outside the hospital.

C. R. Saraswathi, a spokesman of her AIADMK party, said the chief minister was doing well, even though the hospital said she was on life support.

Her ministers have on occasions been seen to prostrate themselves at her feet.

O.P. Panneerselvam, a cabinet colleague, has stood in for Jayalalithaa in the past, but he has repeatedly made it clear he is not replacing her and pointedly refused to sit in her chair at cabinet meetings.

leading an insurrection against colonial rule nearly 200 years ago.

Keppetipola Disawe, a local leader, and his men were declared traitors over the

Akhtar

Crowds

Rajapakshe

“There is no second line of defence here, and these are emotive times. There is a chance of violence,” said T.R. Ramachandran, an independent expert on Tamil Nadu politics.

The AIADMK and its bitter rival, the DMK, are the main parties in Tamil Nadu, and both are built around a personality cult of their leaders who are drawn from the Tamil film industry.

India’s two national parties, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Congress have little political presence in the state, despite decades of efforts.

The death of Ramachandran, or MGR as Jayalalithaa’s mentor was known, sparked looting and rioting across Tamil Nadu by his griefstricken supporters in 1987.

Vigilant

The US consulate in Chennai asked US citizens to avoid areas of demonstrations and be vigilant because of the chance of violence.

“US citizens are reminded that even gatherings intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence,” the consulate said in a notice posted on its website.

Authorities in southern India put police on high alert Monday, fearing an outbreak of civil unrest.

“Amma should survive. I won’t mind if my life is taken away, but Amma should live,” one supporter cried.

Media reports said some Chennai schools would remain closed, while the US consulate in the city said it had suspended services and warned Americans to exercise caution.

There were no immediate reports of unrest, but several of her supporters resorted to self-harm when she was briefly jailed in 2014 on charges of corruption.

Jayalalithaa earned the loyalty of many voters in Tamil Nadu with a series of highly populist schemes including an “Amma canteen” that provides lunch for just three rupees (five cents).

In 2014 she was briefly forced to step down as chief minister after she was jailed on corruption charges.

Her conviction, which was later overturned on appeal, sparked mass protests and even some reported suicides.

Thousands of directors, actors and producers in the successful Tamil language film industry went on hunger strike to demand her release.

1817 rebellion against British rule.

“A recommendation was made to President Maithripala Sirisena to rescind the January 1818 gazette which declared 19 nationals, including Keppetipola Disawe, as traitors and make a fresh proclamation making them national heroes,” Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said in a statement.

The announcement came after the minister met hardline nationalists from the majority Sinhalese community, who have pressed for the scrapping of colonial-era decrees against those who resisted British rule.

Sri Lanka, then known as Ceylon, won freedom in 1948, a year after Britain quit neighbouring India. (AFP)