AIADMK celebrates Jayalalithaa's bail

AIADMK cadres erupted in joy Friday after the Supreme Court granted bail to jailed former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa.

"It is Diwali day for us," a party cadre said outside the AIADMK headquarters here, braving the showers.

"We are very happy at the Supreme Court's order. Our prayers have been answered. The real Diwali for us is today," P. Kumar, AIADMK's member of parliament, told IANS.

The bail for Jayalalithaa came on a day when the AIADMK celebrated its 43rd anniversary.

AIADMK cadres - men and women - assembled outside the party headquarters here and danced in joy. They burst crackers and distributed sweets.

Similar scenes were witnessed in other parts of the state like Salem, Karur, Tuticorin.

AIADMK cadres also vent their anger at opposition leaders like DMK's M. Karunanidhi, DMDK's A. Vijaykant, PMK's S. Ramadoss and BJP's Subramanian Swamy.

A special court Sep 27 convicted Jayalalithaa for corruption and jailed her for four years. She was also fined Rs.100 crore. Since then, she is in the Bangalore Central Jail.

Ever since Jayalalithaa was jailed, AIADMK party cadres have been holding special prayers in various temples in the state. Party cadres also tonsured their heads in large numbers, praying for their leader's release.

The cadres also held state wide protests against the judgment.

A senior AIADMK leader told IANS: "We have to see the full court order. Only then we will be able to comment on how the party would go forward with the day's development."

Ramu Mannivannan, professor of political science in the University of Madras, told IANS: "Jayalalithaa is still the leader of the party and it is her government which is in the state. She may now tie up the loose ends in the party."

-Indo-Asian News Service

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