But for a legal document that lists the ailments of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, there is no evidence in the public domain that could prove the swirling rumours that she is unwell and might go abroad for treatment.
In fact nothing has leaked out of the wrought iron gates of Vedha Nilayam, the sprawling mansion of Jayalalithaa in Chennai’s upmarket Poes Garden area, to suggest even the nature of the illness, not even the name of the doctors who should be treating her if at all she is that sick.
In the memo seeking ‘A’ class facility in the Bangalore jail, way back in September 2014, after she was convicted in a disproportionate assets case by a Special Court judge, Jayalalithaa’s lawyer B Kumar had said that she was a Type 2 diabetic, hypertensive and dyslipidemic. But, as anyone knows, these are the common lifestyle ailments plaguing most of urban India and none of them requires treatment abroad.
Public conduct
However, the rumours and speculations were only sparked and fuelled by Jayalalithaa’s public conduct after her acquittal by the Karnataka High Court on May 11, 2015. Starting with her not making a public appearance before the jubilant party cadre who had been celebrating her release from the case, it was the sequence of events since her swearing in as Chief Minister – "for the fifth time" – on May 23, 2015 that gave an impetus to the rumour-mongers.
First, the swearing in ceremony lasted just less than half an hour, with ministers taking oath in large groups and only a truncated version of the national anthem being played. It seemed, those who took part in the event said, as if she wanted to get back home as early as possible. Journalists who were present also reported that she did not appear to be her usual perky self.
That she gave a slip to a series of events after that, including one on signing an agreement with the Adani group for a port project in the state, set tongues wagging. With the rumour mills whirring overtime, a Delhi magazine and a website reported the various speculations doing the rounds about her health. She was quick to take the website to court, impelling it to pull out the article that spoke of her plans to go abroad for treatment.
Political health
Though it is more than likely that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam can romp home in the 2016 elections even if Jayalalithaa were to be away – with many recalling the 1984 success of the party when its founder MG Ramachandran was in a hospital in the United States during the entire election process – the rumours made an impact on the otherwise weakened political parties in the state.
Sudden activity was reported in various political camps, though no one was clear as to whom to align with in 2016, which is not too far away. One of the parties, Pattali Makkal Katchi even launched a massive media publicity blitz by buying up the front pages of newspapers that were willing to sell that space on Sunday. The image of its "chief ministerial candidate", Anbumani Ramadoss, staring up at a distance was reminiscent of the photographs used for Narendra Modi’s campaign, some said, while some others found in it a resemblance to an old Barack Obama poster.
Whatever gimmicks other parties might play to create an impression that they are quite close to storming Fort St George, the seat of power in the state, they fail to understand that the iron lady seems to be invincible. No matter what the rumours say about the state of her health, what is clear is that her political health seems absolutely fine. After all, she managed to keep her party under total control when she was out of power for eight months and then won the by-election from the RK Nagar constituency in Chennai to be re-elected as MLA (she automatically lost her MLA seat that she won from Srirangam in 2011 when she was convicted in 2014) by polling 88 per cent of the votes cast on June 27.
While the opposition keeps itself in a state of disarray, with each of the parties playing one-upmanship, basing their dreams on speculation and rumours, the people of the state are keen to know about the actual condition of the chief minister's health. But no one is clarifying their doubts. And that is the tragedy.
G Babu Jayakumar is Managing Editor of Chennai-based Provoke Lifestyle magazine
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In fact nothing has leaked out of the wrought iron gates of Vedha Nilayam, the sprawling mansion of Jayalalithaa in Chennai’s upmarket Poes Garden area, to suggest even the nature of the illness, not even the name of the doctors who should be treating her if at all she is that sick.
In the memo seeking ‘A’ class facility in the Bangalore jail, way back in September 2014, after she was convicted in a disproportionate assets case by a Special Court judge, Jayalalithaa’s lawyer B Kumar had said that she was a Type 2 diabetic, hypertensive and dyslipidemic. But, as anyone knows, these are the common lifestyle ailments plaguing most of urban India and none of them requires treatment abroad.
Public conduct
However, the rumours and speculations were only sparked and fuelled by Jayalalithaa’s public conduct after her acquittal by the Karnataka High Court on May 11, 2015. Starting with her not making a public appearance before the jubilant party cadre who had been celebrating her release from the case, it was the sequence of events since her swearing in as Chief Minister – "for the fifth time" – on May 23, 2015 that gave an impetus to the rumour-mongers.
First, the swearing in ceremony lasted just less than half an hour, with ministers taking oath in large groups and only a truncated version of the national anthem being played. It seemed, those who took part in the event said, as if she wanted to get back home as early as possible. Journalists who were present also reported that she did not appear to be her usual perky self.
That she gave a slip to a series of events after that, including one on signing an agreement with the Adani group for a port project in the state, set tongues wagging. With the rumour mills whirring overtime, a Delhi magazine and a website reported the various speculations doing the rounds about her health. She was quick to take the website to court, impelling it to pull out the article that spoke of her plans to go abroad for treatment.
Political health
Though it is more than likely that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam can romp home in the 2016 elections even if Jayalalithaa were to be away – with many recalling the 1984 success of the party when its founder MG Ramachandran was in a hospital in the United States during the entire election process – the rumours made an impact on the otherwise weakened political parties in the state.
Sudden activity was reported in various political camps, though no one was clear as to whom to align with in 2016, which is not too far away. One of the parties, Pattali Makkal Katchi even launched a massive media publicity blitz by buying up the front pages of newspapers that were willing to sell that space on Sunday. The image of its "chief ministerial candidate", Anbumani Ramadoss, staring up at a distance was reminiscent of the photographs used for Narendra Modi’s campaign, some said, while some others found in it a resemblance to an old Barack Obama poster.
Whatever gimmicks other parties might play to create an impression that they are quite close to storming Fort St George, the seat of power in the state, they fail to understand that the iron lady seems to be invincible. No matter what the rumours say about the state of her health, what is clear is that her political health seems absolutely fine. After all, she managed to keep her party under total control when she was out of power for eight months and then won the by-election from the RK Nagar constituency in Chennai to be re-elected as MLA (she automatically lost her MLA seat that she won from Srirangam in 2011 when she was convicted in 2014) by polling 88 per cent of the votes cast on June 27.
While the opposition keeps itself in a state of disarray, with each of the parties playing one-upmanship, basing their dreams on speculation and rumours, the people of the state are keen to know about the actual condition of the chief minister's health. But no one is clarifying their doubts. And that is the tragedy.
G Babu Jayakumar is Managing Editor of Chennai-based Provoke Lifestyle magazine