A sitting CM, mass leader passed away. 'Amma' canteens functioned as usual. Not even a single stray incident of law and order reported. But the entire state cried for her. This is the best tribute for the #IronLady . There are many women in politics, but Jayalalithaa is still unique. She rose to power only because of her hardwork and remained a powerful force in politics due to her talent and charisma. MGR never announced her as his heir. Infact his wife Mrs.Janaki Ramachandran was made the CM by some 'so called MGR loyalists'. That govt lasted for just 2 weeks. All those loyalists are now either in dmk or has become their jalras. It was Jayalalithaa who united the party(Sasikala group helped her in that) and came to power. MGR's image helps ADMK, but then you need a credible face to cash in on that support.
One may very well argue there were lot of negatives in Jaya's administration. Is there a govt without negatives? ADMK's rival DMK has proved itself to be worse than ADMK on numerous occasions. Be it Sarkaria or 2G, ADMK doesn't have such 'different' scandals to its name. .
More than that, I can say there is none as bold as Jayalalithaa in TN(even in India). It was under Jaya's rule Veerappan was killed. Vijayakumar I.P.S paid respect to her today. An official, after retirement, still has respect towards a politician, that shows how much liberty he had while serving under her leadership. When Veeranam scheme was introduced, Kalaignar said, 'Veeranam thittam veenaana thittam', but the scheme was successfully implemented and that was one of the main reasons for ADMK's gains in Chennai. Rain water harvesting, cradle baby scheme, eradicating lottery, improving the power situation significantly etc are all achievements of Jayalalithaa.
There is a perception that AIADMK is BJP's B team for obvious reasons(because it was led by Jaya). She was part of BJP alliance in 1998(only till 1999). Then she had an alliance with BJP during the 2004 Lok Sabha elections and that alliance ended soon after the elections. She has strongly opposed BJP on several issues(sometimes sensible and sometimes political). Yet her haters and rivals, never failed to project her as a BJP ally. Whether or not, she was in alliance with the national parties, she never gave up on the rights of Tamil Nadu when it comes for issues like Cauvery or Mullai Periyar. Didn't make any compromise for political reasons. Opposed GST citing valid reasons that TN would get affected. Never made stupid comments on national security for the sake of publicity and to prove her secular credentials. Truly a no-nonsense Chief Minister.
While it is true that the ADMK govt could have handled the recent floods in a better way, one cannot deny that they handled Tsunami very well. The ministers had a fear of losing their post based on the complaints against them.
Being a dravidian party, ADMK was never against any religion. They openly acknowledged their faith in God. Jayalalithaa would never come out without performing 'pooja'. Jayalalithaa had an option to withdraw the cases against her in 2001, but she faced all the cases legally and emerged victorious. So much of confidence. Her political opponents even pulled her saree in assembly, but she came back stronger.
Had she been healthy, I am sure in 2019 she would have been a strong contender in national politics. It is too hard to digest the fact that she is no more and we will not be able to hear her 'makkalaal naan, makkalukkaagave naan' kind of one liners. The welfare schemes announced by her were very well implemented. Her achievements cannot be listed down in a single article. The 'Amma' of Tamil Nadu, would continue to live in the hearts of the common man forever.
No wonder she is called as 'Iron Lady'.
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