All major announcements in past 2 weeks had CM's nod: AIADMK

Statement follows rumours that Jayalalithaa may not be healthy enough to take such decisions

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has said that all announcements made by the State Government during the past two weeks were approved by J Jayalalithaa. This was in response to speculations about 68-year old AIADMK Supremo's health. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has been hospitalised since September 22. She was initially reported to have been admitted for fever and dehydration, but later it was said that her primary infection was in the lungs.

Several major official and political decisions were announced during the initial days of her admission to the hospital. These include clearing the list of candidates for the local body elections, composition of a team of officials from Tamil Nadu for talks on the Cauvery dispute and issuance of a statement allotting festival bonus to employees of State Public Sector Undertakings.

 

However, there were questions raised by her political rivals on who was really taking the decisions.

Former Minister and Party spokesperson, C Ponnaiyan, said on Saturday that all important decisions were taken after consulting and taking approval from the Chief Minister.

She even met the senior administrators of her party and dictated the speech to be read out at the Cauvery meeting, which was held last week, according to an official statement. With her expertise in the matter, she also corrected a few points, Ponnaiyan claimed.

The government has been operational as a Constitutional body and the concerned ministers and secretaries are taking care of day-to-day activities, he added.

On why the AIADMK government had not been updating the status of the Chief Minister's health to the public, he said, the hospital (Apollo) management has been updating regularly. Besides, it took time to identify the problem.

It has been now identified that the primary infection is in the lungs and the Chief Minister is getting the necessary treatment, and will return home soon, said Ponnaiyan in an interview.

On whether the State is planning to appoint any interim Chief Minister, he said that there is no need for it.

A doctor from the United Kingdom and three experts from AIIMS have been roped in to treat Jayalalithaa. On Thursday, the hospital in a statement said that she has a history of diabetes and winter bronchitis in inclement weather, and the treatment regime includes continued respiratory support, nebulisation, drugs to decongest the lungs, antibiotics, nutrition, general nursing care and supportive therapies.