Dr. J. Jayalalithaa
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
Dr. J. Jayalalithaa
The disproportionate assets case
Lavish wedding that entangled Jayalalithaa in 18-yr-long trial
The Times of India TIMES NEWS NETWORK Sep 28 2014
CM's Vulgar Display Of Wealth Did Her In
The month of September is when Chennai seems to finally shake off the blistering heat of its summer. September also holds significance for the Dravidian movement, the city's governing ideology .Both the parties gear up to celebrate the birthdays of the big ones of the movement -Periyar and Anna -in grand style.
For nearly a year before the September of 1995, there had been whispers, including in the media, of massive corruption taking place in the AIADMK regime. A Wednesday that month seemed to prove those allegations.
The judgement
TN'S AMMA IS NOW JAIL-LALITHAA - Tough decision & a massive fine
The Times of India A Subramani Sep 28 2014
While many expected conviction in the Rs66.6 crore disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa and others, few were prepared for the fury of the judge, John Michael D'Cunha. He found all the four guilty of all the three charges against them. Then he sentenced them to “four years -which would deny them the immediate benefit of suspension of sentence“.Then, more importantly, he slapped a mind-boggling fine -Rs 100 crore “on Jayalalithaa and Rs10 crore each for the other three. Not stopping with that, he denied private medical facility for the TN CM outside jail campus. It is small mercy that he did not impose the maximum prescribed sentence of seven years, and, instead, limited himself only to four years.
“We could not believe that the judge did not show even an inch of leniency to the accused. Also, he accepted none of the defence arguments. It is a conviction, lock, stock and barrel,“ said a defence team member. Perhaps justifying the Rs 130 crore fine, the judge told a stunned defence team: “Do you know the present value of the seizedattached properties? I am leaving that to your imagination.“
Making a last-ditch effort to win a reprieve, the defence team even claimed that Jayalalithaa's conviction would result in a “constitutional crisis“ in TN, and that the 18-year case had made her a diabetic. When the judge remained unmoved, the defence pleaded for NSG protection for Jayalalithaa, a Z-plus category VVIP, inside jail saying she faced grave threat to her life from LTTE and fundamentalist organizations whom she had eradicated from TN. None of these arguments cut ice with the judge.
It may be bad timing for Jayalalithaa that the case should drag on for 18 years and culminate a year after the SC knocked off a protective shield available in the Representative of the People Act for sitting MPs and MLAs, like her.
“If only Section 8(4) of the Act was still alive on the statute, she would not lose the posts instantly . Or, had this verdict come before the SC ruling she would've been spared, as the SC applied it only retrospectively,“ said a jurist. Of course, since it is more than three years, she would have still ended up in jail the same evening when the verdict was read out, he added.
Rule of immediate disqualification
Jayalalithaa ceased to be an MLA with immediate effect. In convictions under other Acts and the IPC, only a sentence of over two years attracts disqualification. But if, as in this case, conviction is under the Prevention of Corruption Act, disqualification is immediate, irrespective of the quantum of jail term. TNN
The wedding of her foster son
The city witnessed a wedding celebration never before seen. It was the wedding of chief minister J Jayalalithaa's foster son. The baraat route was nearly 2km long.There were 10 dining halls, each seating nearly 25,000.Diamonds were a common sight, not among the people, but on Jayalalithaa and her associate Sasikalaa. The marriage pandal sprawled over 75,000sqft. It was clear the state machinery had been deployed in full force to make this happen.
That the groom's brothers, nephews of Sasikalaa, were under investigation by central agencies for involvement in hawala deals only seemed to reinforce public distaste.“There were several complaints of corruption against her regime in 1991-96. But, from public perception, it was the vulgar display of wealth in the wedding that turned the tide against her,“ said S Murari, a journalist who watched Jayalalithaa's film career pan out in the political arena.
Subramanian Swamy was among the first to crusade against her government. In 1995, he finally got Governor Channa Reddy's sanction to prosecute Jayalalithaa in two cases, including the Tansi case.
A successful actress who had a long innings in films, Jayalalithaa came from money . Yet, with the wedding and her dismissal of criticism of the ostentation, she ended up playing into the hands of her adversaries.
Political career
In her first term, she came across as imperious and impervious to people's concerns. The outcome of the elections that year was historical. The main opposition teamed up. A faction of Congress, the Tamil Maanila Congress, led by G K Moopanar, defying the party's decision to align with AIADMK, joined the DMKled front. Adding strength to the DMK-TMC alliance, superstar Rajinikanth campaigned in its favour, coining the catch phrase, `Even God can't save Tamil Nadu if you vote for Jayalalithaa', which became a legend.
It was a total rout for Jayalalithaa and she herself was defeated in Bargur constituency to a political novice from DMK. The crowds she got in Bargur when she campaigned comprised mostly women, some of whom said they had come only to see the jewels Sasikalaa was wearing.
Faced with charges of corruption, Jayalalithaa had vowed not to wear a single piece of jewellery until she got back her collection seized by the courts.
Dr. J. Jayalalithaa: political comebacks
TEMPORARY FALL? - `Don't write her off yet, she's bounced back before'
The Times of India TIMES NEWS NETWORK Sep 28 2014
Stepping out of her car in front of the Parappana Agrahara prison near Bangalore to hear the DA case verdict a little before 11am on 27 Sept 2014, Jayalalithaa is said to have told her driver she'd be back around 12.30pm and return to Chennai. That was not to be, but it revealed her attitude.
Some may call it temerity, but it was this quality that helped her surmount several adversities, personal and political, to bounce back to relevance -and power. If her resurrections are anything to go by, Jayalalithaa is a phoenix who has had another fall.
Jayalalithaa has fought and won a dozen cases between 1996-2014, but the DA case -given the legal and political implications -may prove the toughest.
The last time she had to relinquish the CM's post, in 2001, she had the luxury of having just come to power She came back after a Chennai trial court convicted her in the TANSI case of September 2001.
Filmography
As an actor
1961 Epistle
1961 Shrishaila Mahatme
1964 Chindha Gambhe
1964 Mane Aliya
1964 Murudan Muthu
1965 Ayirathil Oruvan
1965 Kannithai
1965 Manashulu Mamatalu
1965 Nee
1965 Vennira Adai
1966 Aame Evaru
1966 Aastiparulu
1966 Badukuva Daari
1966 Chandorodyam
1966 Gowri Kalyanam
1966 Kumari Penn
1966 Lorry Driver
1966 Major Chandrakant
1966 Mani Makudam
1966 Motor Sundaram Pillai
1966 Muharassi
1966 Navarathri
1966 Saraswathy Sapadham
1966 Thanipiravi
1966 Yaar Nee
1967 Arasa Kattali
1967 Chikkadu Dorakadu
1967 Goodachari116
1967 Gopaludu Bhoopaludu
1967 Kandan Karunai
1967 Kavalkaran
1967 Madi Veettu Mappillai
1967 Magarasi
1967 Naan
1967 Raaja Veetu Pillai
1967 Thaikku Thalaimagan
1968 Andru Kanda Mugam
1968 Attagaru Kottakodalu
1968 Bagdad Gajadonga
1968 Bommalattam
1968 Buthisaligal
1968 Enga Ooru Raja
1968 Galatta Kalyanam
1968 Izzat
1968 Kanavan
1968 Kannan En Kathalan
1968 Kathal Vaghanam
1968 Kudiyiruntha Koyil
1968 Moonrezuthu
1968 Muthu Chippi
1968 Niluvu Dopidi
1968 Oli Vilakku
1968 Pannakarai Pillai
1968 Pudhiya Bhoomi
1968 Rahasya Police115
1968 Sri Ramakatha
1968 Sukha Dukhalu
1968 Ther Thiruvizha
1968 Tikka Shankaraiah
1968/II Brahmachari
1969 Aadarsa Kutumbam
1969 Adimai Penn
1969 Adrushtavanthalu
1969 Daivamagan
1969 Gandikota Rahasyam
1969 Gurudakshinai
1969 Kadaladu Vadaladu
1969 Katha Nayakudu
1969 Mattukkara Velan
1969 Nam Naadu
1970 Alibaba 40 Dongalu
1970 Anathai Ananthan
1970 En Annan
1970 Enga Mama
1970 Engal Thangam
1970 Engiruthu Vandhal
1970 Pathukappu
1970 Saraswathi
1970 Shri Krishna Vijayam
1970 Thedi Vanda Mappillai
1971 Adi Parasakthi
1971 Annai Velankanni
1971 Bharya Biddalu
1971 Kumari Kottam
1971 Neerum Neruppum
1971 Oru Thai Makkal
1971 Savale Samali
1971 Shri Krishna Satya
1971 Sumathi En Sundari
1971 Thanga Gopuram
1972 Akka Thamudu
1972 Annamitta Kai
1972 Dharmam Enge
1972 Neethi
1972 Pattikada Pattanama
1972 Raja
1972 Raman Thediya Seethai
1972 Sakthi Leelai
1972 Thikku Theriyadha Katil
1973 Devudu Chesina Manushulu
1973 Dr. Babu
1973 Ganga Gauri
1973 Jesus
1973 Pattikatu Ponnaiah
1973 Suryagandhi
1973 Vandhale Magarasi
1974 Anbai Thedi
1974 Anbu Thangai
1974 Baghdad Perazhagi
1974 Premalu Pellilu
1974 Shanmugapriya
1974 Thayi
1974 Thirumangalyam
1974 Vairam
1975 Avalukku Aayiram Kangal
1975 Avanthan Manithan
1975 Baaghi Lutera
1975 Barah Ghante
1975 Cinema Paithiyam
1975 Pattam Bharathamum
1975 Thiruvarul
1975 Yarrukkum Vetkam Illai
1976 Chitra Pournami
1976 Gurudakshinai
1976 Jai Jagat Janani
1976 Kanavan Manaivi
1976 Tu Hi Kaali Tu Hi Durga
1976 Tu Hi Ram Tu Hi Krishna
1976 Unmaye Un Vilai Enna
1977 Amar Shilpi
1977 Shahzadi Mumtaz
1977 Shri Krishna Leela
1977 Soorya Kanthi
1977 Unnai Sutrum Ulagam
1979 Mata Velankanni
1980 Nadhiye Thedi Vandha Kadal
1980 Nayakudu Vinayakudu
