Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaraman of Tamil Nadu has been in hospital since September 22, just above twenty days now, and it's been a period marked by a complete lack of standing protocol. In the absence of official clarity, rumours have spread on everything from her low blood sugar, to fake images of her in her hospital bed, to the quintessential death hoax. the illness has been linked to forthcoming local body elections and a reluctance to take on the consequences of disproportionate assets.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaraman of Tamil Nadu has been in hospital since September 22, just above twenty days now, and it's been a period marked by a complete lack of standing protocol. In the absence of official clarity, rumours have spread on everything from her low blood sugar, to fake images of her in her hospital bed, to the quintessential death hoax. the illness has been linked to forthcoming local body elections and a reluctance to take on the consequences of disproportionate assets.
‘Official press conferences' have been off limits to the press. Even as Finance Minister O Paneerselvam takes charge of her portfolios, under Clause 3 of Article 166, the question must be raised of whether the State can continue without a fully-functional Chief Minister or an Acting Chief Minister for an indefinite period.
As with many chief ministers across India's personality-based political system, Jayalalithaa enjoys cult status on her home turf, not in the least driven home by sticking her pictures on fans and grinders. Many statements politicians in her cabinet are putting out are reflective of their personal convictions that she will soon return to take charge of her domains.
The Bharata Syndrome of anyone who has sent political brethren into exile looms large over the Indian psyche. It is therefore quite impractical to expect that decisions taken by her emotional compatriots are anything but reluctant ones. The electorate currently sits between the loyalty of the medical professionals sworn to maintaining patient confidentiality and that of her cabinet to her. Who is being loyal to the electorate, is the question. Protocol exists to prevent emotion running us aground. When almost the entire Polish cabinet was slammed into the earth near Smolensk, that was a lack of protocol.
We don't want that, but neither do we want to swing to the extreme of intrusions into personal privacy. When former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran had to release a video on his health, it belied a lack of protocol too. A well-worded statement would have sufficed.
And when rumours abound on Rahul Gandhi's speculated vacations or his mother Sonia Gandhi's illnesses, it belies a lack of protocol too. The electorate does not know what information it is owed. While Constitutional debates dating back to 1949 by Dr Ambedkar add to the purposes by which the Governor may take charge of duties, these are functional stances for administrative continuity. We are yet to arrive at an understanding of public accountability. The separation of Church and State needs to begin with its instated idols too.
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 "Chief Minister Jayalalitha Jayaraman of Tamil Nadu")
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