The Independence Day parade held at Chennai on Saturday put to rest all speculations and rumours about the state of health of Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa.
The Opposition parties were having a filed day till Friday questioning the status of Jayalalithaa’s health following the cancellation of her journey to Rameswaram to attend the last rites of former president APJ Abdul Kalam. Though the Chief Minister had issued a statement mentioning that she was not travelling to Rameswaram due to health grounds, the Opposition parties like the DMK, Congress and DMDK issued statements asking the Chief Minister to come out with the ‘full facts” associated with her health.
Saturday saw Jayalalithaa in her normal self, unfurling the national Tricolour, inspecting the Guard of Honour presented by the armed forces and the Tamil Police and giving away various awards and honours instituted by the State Government to various personalities who excelled in their chosen areas. Thirty-year-old Jothimani Gowthaman, a woman heavy cargo truck driver from erode in Tamil Nadu was the cynosure of all eyes during the parade as she was conferred with the Kalpana Chawla Award for Courage and Daring Enterprise for the year 2014-15.
Jothimani is a specialist heavy duty driver transporting giant industrial equipment between Tamil Nadu and Gujarat in her ten-wheeled heavy cargo truck. “It is the shortage of qualified and experienced heavy duty drivers which made me take up this job. I am no different from other drivers and please do not accord any status to me because of my womanhood,” said Jothimani. She said she enjoys her work and owe everything to her husband Gowthaman who encouraged her to take up heavy duty driving. “It is really fun and I enjoy the profession,” Jothimani said in chaste English. The Kalpana Chawla Award carries a cash prize of Rs five lakh, citation and medal.
Space scientist N Valarmathi of ISRO, who played a significant role in fabricating and deploying the country’s first-ever Radar Imaging Satellite in 2002 was conferred the first APJ Abdul Kalam award which carries a cash prize of `5 lakh, medal and citation. The only notable difference being her address to the people of Tamil Nadu which she made sitting on a chair. But political commentators were quick to point out that there was nothing unusual in Jayalalithaa addressing the people sitting on a chair. “Please remember that we had a former chief minister who addressed Independence Day parade sitting on a wheel chair. Jayalalithaa is light years ahead of that man,” said a veteran scribe.
The Chief Minister had to skip the Iftaar she hosted this time but she issued a statement that she was staying off the reception as she was indisposed. Otherwise Jayalalithaa makes it a point to visit her office in the secretariat on a daily basis. The Tamil Nadu Assembly which has not met after the 2015-16 budget session is being convened later this month to discuss some of the urgent issues.