Jayalalithaa turns up at Fort St George, silences Opposition over health

CHENNAI: After a gap of ten days, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today turned up at the Secretariat, putting an end to the Opposition's queries regarding her health condition.

Also, AIADMK today strongly hit out at DMK chief Karunanidhi for his health remark on Jayalalithaa on July 7 here when he asked her to "take rest".

The Chief Minister gave away appointment orders to five persons out of a total of 1,006 recruited as assistant professors in state run colleges, virtually silencing opposition over the "health" row.

After she cited a "sudden illness" on July 1 cancelling her visit to an Iftar event organised by her party here, DMK chief Karunanidhi demanded to know her health status.

Addressing a public meeting on July 7, Karunanidhi had said, "Tamil Nadu is a state without a Chief Minister, she is not doing her job since she is not well and that is why she should take rest."

On July 13, when hopes that she will visit the Secretariat to give away the appointment orders did not materialise, TNCC chief Elangovan too demanded an explanation on her health.

Referring to this, AIADMK daily "Dr Namadhu MGR" today said "Karunanidhi's slanderous remarks at the public meeting and his political stooge Elangovan giving statements (on health) is shameful."

Besides, political rivals seeking answers on her health, there was also some reports in a section of vernacular media in this regard.

A web news portal too had put out a report over her health status and senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had also tweeted over her health.

Notably, a criminal defamation petition against the web portal was filed yesterday in a court here by the State for the "wrong and libellous report" about the Chief Minister's health.

Jayalalithaa had last visited the Secretariat on July 4 when she formally took oath of office as RK Nagar MLA and also presided the signing of an MoU with the Adani Group for a power generation project.