Chennai: Sarla Kumari first took to the streets on September 27, praying and fasting along with the swelling numbers of AIADMK supporters who had gathered at their Royapettah headquarters the day their party supremo, J. Jayalalithaa, was convicted in the disproportionate assets case in a Bengaluru court.
As the news broke, she began rolling on Avvai Shanmugham Salai, cursing the DMK for conspiring against their leader. She and her sister R.K. Karpagam have since participated in the fast called by the AIADMK at Marina MGR Memorial on Sunday and Wednesday. On Thursday, she squatted along with the corporation councillors at Thousand Lights.
On Sunday, she was with social welfare minister Valarmathi for the vilakku puja at Nungambakkam Angalamman Koil and in the evening, the sisters were part of the thee chatti puja organised by handlooms minister Gokula Indira at Pursawalkam Ponniamman Koil.
“Amma has been my inspiration since my school days. I live a stone’s throw away from her house. My entire family raises slogans for her from our heart. But now it is hard to digest that our deity is in jail,” said Sarala, whose husband, a big fan of MGR and Jayalalithaa, had always encouraged her to be active in politics.
Offended at the suggestion of a plum party post in return for her unflinching loyalty, she shot back, “My entire family has benefited because of Amma. My family members have occupied several posts in co-operative societies. It’s now our turn to reciprocate. The men in my house home can walk with pride, wearing the party dhoti, only if Amma is well and that’s it.”
Call them fans or political fanatics, Sarala, Karpagam and several more women cadres in the AIADMK have been adding muscle to the party’s campaign, sustaining the momentum of the protest.
