She evoked fear and admiration in friends and foes alike. To reach the pinnacle of glory in the rough, Machiavellian and male-dominated politics is no mean achievement. Through sheer grit, determination and dedication, Jayalalithaa proved that nothing could deflect her from her goal of serving the masses and making Tamil Nadu one of the premier States in various development indices.
Her persona no doubt was charismatic, but the manner in which she struck a chord in the hearts of the people made her one of the most popular political leaders in the country. The sea of humanity that turned up to pay last respects to her with thousands of men and women wailing at her loss showed the massive affection she evoked in the masses.
Although she courageously fought many a battle with her political adversaries ever since she entered into the rough and tumble of politics, she could not survive the fight against a rapidly failing health during the past few months in spite of the best attempts by doctors and breathed her last on December 5. Her death plunged the nation into mourning and a pall of gloom enveloped Tamil Nadu, leaving the masses, her supporters, AIADMK activists and leaders shell-shocked.
Jayalalithaa, whom I knew personally for over several years, was an iconic leader. She was brave, bold and courageous and was always in the forefront of protecting and serving the interests of Tamil Nadu. The never-say-die attitude and the uncompromising toughness displayed by her in matters and causes in which she believed enabled her to steadfastly tread the chosen path irrespective of the obstacles created by her political rivals.
She had an indomitable spirit and was a fighter till the last. Just a day before she passed away, she was almost normal and planned to go home. Everyone hoped and wished that she would become normal and lead an active political life again, but destiny snatched her away after she suffered a cardiac arrest.
She gave voice to the voiceless and empowered the powerless. As someone said Ms Jayalalithaa lived and died for welfare of Tamil people, especially the downtrodden for whom she hadlaunched a slew of schemes. She was instrumental in ensuring legislative support for 69 per cent reservation in education and employment. The Amma Canteens launched to provide food for the poor have become so popular that other neighbouring States emulated the welfare programme. Of course, at time times she was criticised for being too populist and not realistic, but her welfare scheme will be remembered for long.
In the male-dominated social order, the causes of women were very close to her heart and she always championed them in a pro-active manner. In a State like Tamil Nadu and in the backdrop of Dravidian movement, she firmly believed in the uplift of the backward and weaker sections.
She was in sync with the BJP on a broader ideological plane in spite of the political differences and the AIADMK and BJP fighting against each other during elections.
At the time of the last Assembly elections when I spoke to her and told that the general mood was to stitch an alliance between the two parties, she promised to get back the next day. Subsequently, she informed me that the her party after careful consideration decided to go it alone as the margins might be narrow in view of the anti-incumbency factor. And also the forming of an alliance might give handle to her political rivals to create a fear psychosis among sections of the people. This also showed that she was quite pragmatic politically.
However, she had assured me that she liked the leadership of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and that she would extend support to NDA on larger national issues. She lived up to her word on many occasions.
She did the same in the case of GST Bill. Although there were initial apprehensions that Tamil Nadu might have to face some negative effects in view of its large manufacturing base, the AIADMK walked out of the House which helped us to get the GST passed in an overwhelming manner. Hours before the voting, she conveyed her decision and stuck to the assurance given to me and the Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley.
She always took up with the Centre issues of larger concern to Tamil Nadu — be it Tamil fishermen issue or the Cauvery waters and she used to consistently pursue them.
I have had a personal and firsthand experience of the manner in which she used to pursue development-related issues like the Chennai Metro rail, heritage cities, smart cities, Housing for All and other major projects dealt with by my Ministry.
Incidentally, she had participated in her last two public functions along with me. They related to laying of the foundation for Metro — Thiruvotriyur Extension covering her constituency on July 23 this year and the other was the inauguration of Chinnamalai Metro line on September 20. As she was suffering from fever, she said that preferred to participate through a videoconference from her place, while I was present at the Chinnamalai Metro Station to flag-off.
She used to openly say that I am a friend of Tamil Nadu in the Central Government. As BJP general secretary in 1998 and lateras president BJP in 2004, I used to interact with her several times and visited her at Poes-Garden residence.
During seat-sharing negotiations, she used to be very firm and at the same time, she used to convince me with logic. On occasions, she used to accommodate my (party) wishes. When I insisted that Rangaraja Kumara Mangalamshould be given a seat from Salem, she curtly told me that he did not have the chances to win and finally agreed to our request to accommodate him from Trichi. Whenever I visited her, she was very affectionate and used to converse in chaste Telugu.
She tenaciously fought her rivals within and outside the party. She encountered many situations when her adversaries tried to insult, sideline or ignore her after the demise of MGR. Displaying the fighting spirit of a battle-hardened veteran, she never buckled and fought back her opponents with courage and conviction.
Her remarkable success as an actor and leader was on account of her hard work, intelligence and great skills. She is the best example of how a woman could achieve the goals set by her through determination, indomitable spirit and dedication.
She left an indelible impression in the film industry. She left her imprint on whichever position or responsibility she took. Even the adverse court judgments did not deter the people’s devotion to her.
She was always an adventurist and never bothered about the consequences.
The fact that people prayed for days together in temples, churches and mosques for her well being showed the unparalleled popularity she had enjoyed. Her concern for marginalised people had made her immensely popular.
I was there at Rajaji Hall since 6.30 am till the end and saw wave after wave of mourners, who were beating their chests and wailing inconsolably over the demise of their beloved leader. Police did commendable job in controlling the masses, who showered flower petals and went on raising slogans in favour of their leader. I must say she was a matchless leader, who was a real Amma to the people.
She was a leader who commanded unflinching loyalty and devotion from her workers to senior leaders.
She used to answer the questions from media in a curt manner and that attitude made her stand out. Her command over English and Tamil and articulation made her a great communicator.
She used to call herself as “Anubhu Shaodarai” (dear sister) but millions of followers started calling her “Amma” (mother). She was a real revolutionary leader “Puratchi Thalaivi”.
The Prime Minister tweeted that “I will cherish the occasions when I interacted with Jayalalithaji”. He flew to Chennai to pay tributes, and had assured the AIADMK leadership that the Centre was ready to extend any help at any time.
As my friend Gurumurthy wrote ‘Na Bhooto Na Bhavishyati’ (Neither in past nor in future), I always cherish the memories and interaction I had with her. I admire her courage, conviction, calibre, dynamism and the bold administration provided by her Government.
(The writer is Minister for Urban Development and Information & Broadcasting)