Amma convicted huge blow for AIADMK

Chennai: In a major setback for Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, she has been found guilty in the wealth case by a Bangalore court. The case was filed 18 years ago by her arch rival, DMK.

After the veridct against her, Amma will have to resign as the Chief Minister of the state. The sentencing will begin at 3pm. Earlier, she spent a few days in jail after her arrest a few months after an FIR, or police complaint, was filed in 1996. 

The Chief Minister is present for the verdict in a special court near the Bangalore Central Jail on the outskirts of the IT city. Many of her party leaders and ministers have packed the courtroom in a show of support. AIADMK workers on Friday offered prayers for their leader. 

Now that Jaya is left with no other option but to resign, there’s speculation that she could be considering a few names to be appointed as Chief Minister in the event of her conviction. Topping the list is former Chief Secretary Sheela Balakrishnan. Others include former DGP Natraj, former Advocate-General and Rajya Sabha MP Navaneedakrishnan, Visalakshi Nedunchezhian, wife of late former Minister Nedunchezhian and Transport Minister Senthil Raja. 

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to accept the petition of a lawyer who wanted the verdict to be put off on grounds that it would cause massive law and order problems. 

The prosecution has argued that Jayalalithaa had just Rs. 3 crore when she became the Chief Minister for the first time in 1991 and took a salary of just one rupee, but in her five-year tenure, her wealth and that of three others who lived with her shot up to Rs 66 crore. 

Investigators of the state anti-corruption department say Jayalalithaa, her friend Sasikala Natarajan, her now disowned foster son V N Sudhakaran and Sasikala’s sister-in-law Ilavarasi, floated 32 firms that bought property but had no business activities. 

The alleged illegal wealth includes 2,000 acres of land, 30 kg of gold and 12,000 saris. Rs 5 crore was allegedly spent on the wedding of Sudhakaran in 1996, but Jayalalithaa claimed the bride’s family paid for it. 

The case was shifted to a Bangalore court after Jayalalithaa returned to power for the second time in 2001. This was on a petition by a DMK leader who said that a trial in Tamil Nadu could not be unbiased in AIADMK rule. In 2011, Jayalalithaa, a former film star, had attended the Bangalore court to answer over 1,300 questions asked by a judge over four days. 

Jayalalithaa calls the case political vendetta by arch-rival DMK. She argued that the prosecution undervalued her earlier assets, ignored her income from other sources and exaggerated the value of her property.