Tuesday, Nov 25, 2003
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By R.K. Radhakrishnan
The Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, offering prayers at the Aadipureeswarar Udanurai Vadivudai Amman temple at Thiruvottriyur, Chennai, after the Supreme Court verdict in the TANSI land deal case on Monday.
The Supreme Court had this morning upheld the Madras High Court order acquitting her. The Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, waited long enough at her Poes Garden residence here to hear details of the verdict before meeting party seniors and Cabinet colleagues. ``It's entirely God's will. Thanks be to God,'' she said and added she did not feel like saying anything more. She immediately left for a temple at Tiruvottiyur, a city suburb. In a brief interaction with the media, Ms. Jayalalithaa said trials and tribulations were part of the public life. She had faced and overcome many troubles in the past. Ms. Jayalalithaa said she did not want to comment on the transfer of the trial of the wealth case against her to Karnataka by the Supreme Court. She had to appear in court and this posed ``no physical inconvenience''. She had to appear only once. Her counsel would represent her from then on. On a request from the media, Ms. Jayalalithaa repeated what she said in Tamil and in Hindi. At around 10.40 a.m., as news of the Supreme Court verdict trickled in, AIADMK cadres and leaders, who had gathered near her residence and at the party office on Avvai Shanmugham Salai, erupted in joy. They burst crackers, distributed sweets and hugged one another. Some even shed tears. ``Amma has done no wrong. No court can punish her,'' thundered a cadre from Tambaram. Similar scenes of elation were witnessed in front of Ms. Jayalalithaa's house, even as the Social Welfare Minister, B. Valarmathi, distributed sweets.
Jubilant AIADMK cadres showing the victory sign at the party headquarters in Chennai. Other leaders, who had come to the party office, including Sulochana Sampath, said no one in the party had any doubt about the verdict. An innocent person could not be punished. The ``entire court drama was staged by the DMK president, M. Karunanidhi, and his cohorts,'' they said. Some of those who had gathered abused Mr. Karunanidhi and the Janata Party president, Subramanian Swamy. ``We will give them the right answer,'' one of them shouted. ``They have to come to us one day or the other.'' Relief for bureaucrats The verdict lifted the air of uncertainty, which hung over the seat of State power, Fort St.George. Many bureaucrats heaved a sigh of relief and were happy that Ms. Jayalalithaa would continue as Chief Minister, instead of ruling by proxy. The 2001 experience was fresh in the minds of a few officers, who did not wish to be seen as being close to the party but wanted to do the job assigned. In September 2001, Ms. Jayalalithaa stepped down after the Supreme Court had held her appointment unconstitutional. Earlier, she was sworn in by the Governor, Fathima Beevi, after the AIADMK won the May 2001 elections. Ms. Jayalalithaa chose O. Paneerselvam to head the Government and he never lost an opportunity to let it be known who was running the Government. For some bureaucrats, this posed problems. ``Mr. Paneerselvam had exhibited a great deal of understanding of issues and problems. But he was not Madam (Ms. Jayalalithaa). The difference was huge and it was always difficult, a very difficult period,'' recalls an official. Spot decisions could not be made and every decision had to go through a process of examination.
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