Agitations by the activists of the AIADMK continued all over Tamil Nadu following the Karnataka High Court’s decision to adjourn the hearing of the bail application moved on behalf of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to next week.
The AIADMK cadre organised a human chain in Chennai which saw thousands of party workers bringing traffic to a grinding halt for hours. They were joined by prominent leaders of the party.
The AIADMK cadre held street corner meetings all over the State as a mark of protest against the sentencing and conviction of their leader by the judge of the Special Court in Bangalore in the disproportionate wealth case.
Speakers at Porur, a city suburb, who addressed the meeting, blasted Judge John Michael Cunha for the verdict. “He is taking revenge on Amma for standing up to Karnataka on the Cauvery water issue,” said one of the speakers.
The protest rallies and demonstrations are becoming epicentres of anti-Kannada feelings. “If this continues for another couple of weeks, we cannot rule out the possibilities of the AIADMK workers launching attacks against people from Karnataka,” said a senior police official.
A former top bureaucrat, who has fought and quarrelled with Jayalalithaa said the disproportionate wealth case against her was foisted by political opponents who felt that she was the one who stood between them and political monopoly. “She will come out of this case unscathed. Jayalalithaa had been convicted and sentenced in the TANSI land deal case by a special court. But the Madras High Court quashed the verdict following the appeal,” said the IAS official, who did not want his name to be quoted.
Referring to the verdict by the judge of the Bangalore Special Court who convicted Jayalalithaa, he said the disproportionate wealth case had no big merit for conviction. “The judge wanted to show to the world that he was a fair-minded judge,” said the official.
Similar voice was echoed by R Nataraj, former Director General of Police. “This is a case framed up by the DMK to eliminate Jayalalithaa from the political landscape. I am sure that she would be acquitted by the higher courts,” said Nataraj.