If anyone talks about Amma, his tongue will be cut off: AIADMK MP on rumours of Jaya's ill health

At a time when the internet and political circles in Tamil Nadu are abuzz with conjecture that Chief Minister Jayalalithaa is unwell, an AIADMK minister has said that he will cut off the tongue of anyone who talks about her health.

Speaking at a public meeting in Chennai on Sunday, PR Sundaram said, “As an MP I have to be restrained. If anyone speaks about revolutionary leader Amma, his tongue will be cut off.” Sundaram took a swipe at DMK chief M Karunanidhi and said, “Karunanidhi wants Amma to take rest. What’s his age? He’s 93 and he says he wants to live for 100 years. He doesn’t want to hand over power to his son.”

Party spokesperson CR Saraswati played down the remarks by the MP. “Let me check. The MP could have said it jokingly on stage,” NDTV quoted her as saying.

Amid the speculations, Jayalalithaa’s arch rival, the DMK, have been mounting pressure on the AIADMK chief over the issue. The DMK has demanded that the state government should go on record about whether Jaya has any health problems.

Recently though, the Chief Minister turned up at the Secretariat, putting an end to the Opposition’s queries regarding her health condition. Also, AIADMK had strongly hit out at DMK chief Karunanidhi for his health remark on Jayalalithaa when he had asked her to “take rest”.

The Chief Minister gave away appointment orders to five persons out of a total of 1,006 recruited as assistant professors in state run colleges, virtually silencing opposition over the “health” row, PTI reported.

Not just DMK, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president EVKS Elangovan had also asked for an explanation. “There may be political differences, but Jayalalithaa is the Chief Minister for all the people, hence everyone has a right to know about her health status,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.

Besides, political rivals seeking answers about her health, there were also some reports in a section of vernacular media in this regard. On 2 July, she was to attend a much publicised iftar hosted by the AIADMK but Jayalalithaa failed to show up.

The CM has been attending public functions and inaugurating projects via video conferencing.  Jayalalithaa had last visited the Secretariat on 4 July when she formally took oath of office as RK Nagar MLA and also presided the signing of an MoU with the Adani Group for a power generation project.

With agency inputs