Notwithstanding the Commission of Inquiry constituted by the State government to probe the death of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, Ministers in the State Cabinet are making contradictory statements on whether or not they were given access to her in the Apollo Hospitals, where she underwent treatment for 75 days.
While Forests Minister Dindigul C. Sreenivasan — who had earlier claimed that he periodically interacted with Jayalalithaa in hospital — recently issued a public apology, stating that he and his Cabinet colleagues had lied about having met her, two Ministers on Tuesday said that they had, in fact, seen the ailing leader while she was in hospital.
Replying to queries from reporters here as to whether he had seen Jayalalithaa at the Apollo Hospitals, Cooperation Minister Sellur K. Raju said, “All Ministers saw her.” However, he didn’t elaborate on when and how many times they had visited her during her time in hospital.
Labour Minister Nilofer Kafeel told a private TV channel in New Delhi that she saw Jayalalithaa once, while the latter was being transferred from one room to another in the hospital. When asked if Jayalalithaa was aware of her surroundings then, Ms. Kafeel said that since they [Ministers] had a view of her from afar, she was not sure, adding that Jayalalithaa was “not conscious, I think.”
Conversely, Tamil Development Minister Ma Foi K. Pandiarajan said that he never saw Jayalalithaa [in hospital], nor had he ever claimed to have seen her.
Revenue Minister R.B. Udhayakumar said, “For the inquiry to complete, it would be appropriate for people to inform the Commission of Inquiry about it (whether they saw the former Chief Minister or not). Comments made by Ministers are based on their personal experiences.”
When asked about DMK leader M.K. Stalin’s demand that the probe should be undertaken by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Law Minister C.Ve. Shanmugam said, “It was he [Mr. Stalin] who sought a judicial inquiry and now it has been constituted. And then he will call for CBI [inquiry] and later call for a FBI probe?”
Terms of reference
Responding to a similar question, Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar said, “Why? Then they will ask for a probe by the CIA!” He said that the government would take appropriate action based on the recommendations of the Commission after the inquiry. When asked why the government order had not been made public, the Minister said that the Terms of Reference and the time frame for the Commission would be made known soon.
Well-known supporter of sidelined AIADMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran, P. Vetrivel, who was disqualified from his MLA’s post, said the Commission should have a fixed time limit to complete the probe and the process should not be dragged.
Mr. Sreenivasan’s statement that they had ‘lied’ earlier about Jayalalithaa’s health has been criticised by political opponents. Political commentators said that his statement had dented the credibility and the image of the party as well as those of the government.
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami had in August announced that a Commission of Inquiry would be constituted “in view of the various information from several organisations and individuals about the death of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.” The government on Monday announced the constitution of the Commission under Justice A. Arumughaswamy, retired High Court judge.