Letters: Looking for a shield

With reference to the report, “Yes, Sasikala will be Tamil Nadu’s CM. For how long is the real question” (February 7), the haste with which V K Sasikala (pictured) became the chief minister shows only one thing: her hope that the courts would take a lenient view of her in the cases pending against her, once she occupies the august office.

 

Sasikala is probably emboldened by the recent Supreme Court ruling dismissing a petition filed by an NGO seeking a probe against some politicians, including the prime minister. The top court said: “If we were to order investigation on the basis of material with no evidentiary value, it would be difficult for constitutional functionaries to function, which would not be safe for the democracy.”

 

Or, maybe, Sasikala thinks that even if convicted, she can do a Lalu Prasad. In 1997, Prasad installed his wife as Bihar chief minister, when he had to vacate office following an arrest warrant issued against him in a corruption case. In the theatre of the absurd that Tamil Nadu politics has descended to anything is possible.

 

Whatever her calculation, Sasikala should understand that her actions amount to impropriety and the public will take note of them. In occupying the office by hook or by crook, she might fritter away the goodwill and support earned by the AIADMK over the years by M G Ramachandran and later J Jayalalithaa. V Jayaraman Chennai