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Jayalalithaa to answer 192 questions today
Of the 1,339 posers listed for her in the disproportionate assets case, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa has answered all but 192.
Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa is about to hit the questioning home stretch.
Of the 1,339 posers listed for her in the disproportionate assets case at the special court in Bangalore’s Parappana Agrahara, she has answered all but 192. Special Public Prosecutor BV Acharya said the questioning would probably be over by Wednesday afternoon.
The chief minister has been charged with amassing Rs 66 crore during her earlier tenure, between 1991 and 1996.
On Tuesday, she fielded 580 questions — a giant leap from her two-day score of 567. Part of the reason was that most questions from judge BM Mallikarjunaiah elicited nothing more than a monosyllabic “no”.
Many of the questions were related to acquisition of property by the companies and firms, in which she was a partner. Jayalalithaa explained that as a dormant partner, she was ignorant of the firms’ acquisitions and day-to-day transactions. Some questions were also related to the wedding expenses of her adopted son Sudhakaran. According to the prosecution, nearly Rs 6 crore was spent for the wedding.
Jayalalithaa told the court she had not spent a single paisa for it and the entire expense was borne by the bride’s family.
This was the third time Jayalalithaa appeared before the Bangalore court. She had appeared earlier on October 20 and 21. Citing security risk, she had repeatedly applied for exemptions from personal appearance in court, but had to comply after a Supreme Court order.
For this session, the chief minister came by a special aircraft, accompanied by a large contingent, which included at least 20 cabinet colleagues. She left the city after the questioning was over around 5.30 pm and will be arriving again on Wednesday.
