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‘Always there for Amma’: Supporters outside hospital as Jaya remains ‘very critical’
Supporters of ailing Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa seemed deflated on Monday but continue to maintain she will recover after Chennai’s Apollo Hospital announced that the AIADMK leader was in a “very critical” condition.
Supporters of ailing Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa seemed deflated on Monday but continue to maintain she will recover after Chennai’s Apollo Hospital announced that the AIADMK leader was in a “very critical” condition.
“Don’t leave us Amma,” an elderly woman said in between bouts of sobbing. “Long live Puratchi Thalaivi (Revolutionary Leader),” countered another, as her husband defiantly held a passport-sized photo of Jayalalithaa.
The mood outside the hospital, where 68-year-old leader was readmitted after she suffered a cardiac arrest late on Sunday afternoon, is reminiscent of how her supporters reacted when she was first hospitalised on September 22, save for one key factor: Tension.
Live | Despite best efforts, Jayalalithaa ‘remains in grave situation’: Apollo
This comes hot on the heels of seemingly mixed messages from her party. Monday morning saw several AIADMK MLAs and party leaders leaving the hospital and declaring that their leader was completely fine.
“I understand the confusion because of the health complications,” R Muthuvel, a party worker from RK Nagar, the constituency from which Jayalalithaa contested and won the 2016 assembly elections, said.
“But they should tell us what is happening now that the hospital is saying she is unwell,” the 45-year-old said.
A party leader, who did not wish to be named, said that he was sure that Amma would pull through. “She will recover from this and return to lead us,” he said with his confidence clearly undiminished by the latest medical bulletin. “God is with her. Amma is with us.”
Read | Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa on life support: Here’s how ECMO works
But there is a sense, this time, that her die-hard supporters are losing hope, with several scuffles between workers and police outside of the hospital reported since the news of her deteriorating health condition broke.
“Without Amma, I am nothing,” J Shaktivelli, a tailor from Chennai, said. “Her life is my life,” she continued, looking visibly upset.
Others, however, were less pleased with the situation, especially with the police blockades of the main roads leading into Apollo.
“All of our lives are equal right?” asked an auto-driver, who did not wish to be named.
“Think of the other patients who have to go to that hospital. They have to walk a long distance now because the police have blockaded the roads. This is unacceptable. It was far better when MGR was in this hospital,” he said referring to MG Ramachandran, who served as the state’s chief minister for three successive terms.
Jayalalithaa is on life support and being constantly supervised by medical authorities. She underwent an angioplasty surgery in the morning to repair her blood vessels and is being treated by a large team of doctors, including four heart and lung specialists from Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
Come what may, and despite the sombre mood that is slowly spreading through the crowd gathered on Greams Lane, it’s clear that as long as Jayalalithaa still lives, her supporters will be there.
“I was here when she was first hospitalised in September,” Shaktivelli said. “I am here now and I will always be here when Amma needs our support.”
