When the court adjourned the proceedings to November 4, the Iron Lady of Chennai claimed she had important engagements fixed for that day.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Friday declined the directive by the judge of the Bangalore special court hearing the Rs 66.6 crore disproportionate asset case against her to appear before it on Saturday on the plea that she had to attend the National Development Council meeting in New Delhi.
When the court adjourned the proceedings to November 4, the Iron Lady of Chennai claimed she had important engagements fixed for that day. The judge had no option other than adjourning the proceedings to November 8.
But Jayalalithaa did not make it to New Delhi. Her speech in which she lambasted the union government on a number of counts was read out by finance minister O Paneerselvam, her second-in-command in the cabinet.
On Thursday and Friday, Jayalalithaa made her appearances in the court at Parappana Agrahara in Bangalore in style. Both days she shuttled between Chennai and Bangalore in a chartered aircraft. The 24X7 news channels were competing against each other to telecast live the arrival and departure of Amma from the court. More than a dozen specially flown sleek SUVs were pressed into service for transporting Jayalalithaa from the airport to court and back.
She answered a total of 567 questions out of a total 1339 questions prepared by the prosecution. When the judge asked her to be present in the court on Saturday to record her answers for the remaining questions, she told the court about the chief minister’s meeting scheduled for that day and the court heeded to her request.
Jayalalithaa stayed put in Veda Nilayam, her private residence in Chennai’s Poes Garden . Why the chief minister did not go to Delhi remains a mystery. Since she told the court that she had to attend the meeting, it was believed that Jayalalithaa would make a appearance in New Delhi on Saturday. It is not known whether it was the presence of her arch rival Karunanidhi in New Delhi on Saturday which made Jayalalithaa change her mind and cancelled the trip to the capital city. The two do not see eye to eye and always avoid crossing each other.
The AIADMK leader tried all weapons in her armory to avoid appearing before the special court in Bangalore. It was the Supreme Court’s intervention which made Jayalalithaa to appear before the special court. One has to see what is her important engagement scheduled for November 4.
Interestingly, her advocate told news reporters on Friday that the special court could not question her again. “The Supreme Court had fixed two days for recording her statements. She appeared before the court on both the days. We will approach the Supreme Court for further directives,” said B Kumar, the counsel.
If the history of the trial of disproportionate asset case against her is any indication, Jayalalithaa and her battery of lawyers are trying either to stonewall or delay the court proceedings.
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