'Amma word shouldn't be construed as reference to Jaya'

An impleading petition has been filed in the Madras High Court stating that the 'Amma' mineral water and canteen programmes were state government schemes and they did not mean to refer to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.

The word 'Amma' in Tamil means mother or god or a reverential reference to women or even children, and it should not be construed that government schemes were being named after Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, the petitioner Varaki said, praying to implead himself in a PIL filed by social activist 'Traffic' Ramaswamy.

Noting the Chief Minister took oath as Jayalalithaa and not as 'Amma', he said it is false and mischievous to say that public funds were being used to promote the personal image of the Chief Minister. They are welfare schemes meant to benefit the downtrodden, he said, adding, the Centre had 461 schemes named after former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

Ramaswamy had filed the PIL last month seeking a direction to prevent pictures of Jayalalithaa and AIADMK's party symbol being carried on bunks erected on pavements, in bus stands and on buses.

He had said bottled 'Amma' mineral water was being sold from kiosks outside metropolitan transport corporation depots and sought their removal as it hindered movement and inconvenienced public.