Hyderabad: Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s cabinet ministers zealously guarded her image. Couple of years ago, Hyderabad hosted all India Fisheries Ministers conference where ministers from several states including Tamil Nadu attended. Tamil Nadu fisheries Minister who spoke in chaste Tamil explained the status of the fisheries industry in Tamil Nadu.
He also repeatedly referred to his Jayalalithaa as ‘Puratchi Thalaivi’ (revolutionary leader) and said the state grew by leaps and bounds under her leadership. A fisheries minister from Uttar Pradesh who could not understand the TN minister’s speech in Tamil asked a minister from the South, “Saab...yeh Puratchi Thalaivi kon si machili hai (what kind of fish is this Puratchi Thalaivi)?
The TN minister who overheard the conversation asked the minister what the minister from UP was asking. When the minister explained, the Tamil Nadu fisheries minister was furious and walked out of the meeting citing insult of his leader, Jayalalithaa. The UP minister was stumped by the protest. After much cajoling, the TN minister returned to meeting. The minister from the north had to tender an apology for posing such a question.
Amma fans:
Famed ‘Amma fans’ which are distributed free of cost to the poor by Tamil Nadu government was manufactured by a city company in the Balanagar industrial area. The table fan with a picture of Jayalalithaa is a big hit with beneficiaries. TN government planned to supply 1.93 crore fans and a part of the order was placed to a Balanagar company. Each fan cost Rs 930 plus taxes.
