Jayalalithaa's dead; shocked AIADMK inconsolable

Chennai: The devastated supporters and hard-core loyalists of the 68-year-old AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa who gathered outside the Apollo hospitals were not willing to give up on their leader.

But, when few Tamil electronic media houses declared her as dead on Monday evening, their agitation crossed barricades. The magnitude of the fury was so intense that the presence of media crew were banished following the goof up, while some were manhandled.

A lady breaks down as Jayalalithaa’s health condition worsened on Monday.

Slogans against the media houses rented the city’s air, questioning the journalistic ethics. Except for personnel from the information department and Jaya TV, the mouthpiece of the AIADMK, no media representatives were allowed outside the hospital premises. Deployment of police personnel was intense at Greams Road, Poes Garden, Gopalapuram and Avvai Shanmugam Salai. The Party MLAs and ministers were seen at the headquarters to take part in the meeting.

Meanwhile, normalcy was affected on Greams Road as all the shops had downed their shutters, prompting party functionaries to walk for more than two kilometers to buy water or snacks.

It has been a continuous affair for the senior leaders of the party to interact with the supporters in regular intervals, only to emphasize — “All will be well.” This attempt to pacify the AIADMK supporters successfully prevented aggressive mob behavior and violence, but not after the announcement of Jayalalithaa’s ‘death’ was made in the Tamil media.The announcement created a stir outside the hospital but Apollo released a statement reassuring she was still alive. Supporters were wailing outside the Apollo Hospital, as they hit themselves and shouted out, “Amma should be alive.”