Chennai: Various opposition parties in the state flayed the TTV Dhinakaran (candidate in the RK Nagar byelection) group for releasing the video of late chief minister J. Jayalalithaa’s stay in hospital, on the eve of by-poll and said her demise is being politicised. They demanded a probe into the authenticity of the footage.
Reacting sharply to the release of the video, DMK working president M. K. Stalin on Wednesday, sought to know why it was not released earlier. Referring to DMK chief M. Karunanidhi’s demand to release Jayalalithaa’s picture from Apollo hospital in 2016, he said the present situation would not have arisen if the authorities had released the photo then. “I did not expect them to stoop down to this level to politicse Jayalalithaaa’s demise,” he said.
Coming down heavily on the rebel AIADMK group for releasing the video, BJP state president Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan said, “they have brought disrespect to her dignity by releasing this video. This is a privacy issue involving a woman. She would have definitely not wanted this.” She claimed that the Dhinakaran camp released the video on the eve of by-poll only for political gains. “They are not concerned about the dignity of Jayalalithaa,” she added.
Expressing disbelief, BJP national secretary H. Raja said its authenticity should be verified.
PMK youth-wing leader Dr Anbumani Ramadoss demanded a probe to ascertain the authenticity of the video while raising doubts over the timing of its release. “We don’t know the authenticity of the video, whether it was of the hospital or her (Jayalalithaa) stay in her home. Why was it released a day before the poll... inquiry should be ordered... They (TTV Dhinakaran faction) should be booked,” he said. Dr. Anbumani also questioned why the Dhinakaran faction did not provide the video to the panel formed by the Tamil Nadu government probing the circumstances leading to the death of Jayalalithaa on Dec. 5 last year after 75 days hospitalisation in Apollo Hospitals.
Tamil Maanila Congress leader and former Union shipping minister G. K. Vasan wondered as to what could be reason behind releasing the video a year after her death.
