As the Karnataka High Court is all set to pronounce its verdict on Monday on the appeal filed by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa challenging the special court judgment sentencing her to four years imprisonment and a fine of Rs100 crore in the disproportionate assets case, anxiety and tension are visible both in the AIADMK and DMK camps. The September 27, 2014 verdict by the Bangalore Special Court cost Jayalalithaa her chief ministership as well as the membership of the legislative Assembly.
leaders of the AIADMK were tight-lipped when asked about the possibilities, chances and future course of action after Monday’s verdict. But a senior spokesperson of the party told The Pioneer on condition of anonymity that the party cadre were upset over the discrimination meted out to Amma (as Jayalalithaa is addressed by party cadre) by the judiciary. “A film star who was sentenced to five years imprisonment in a hit-and-run case was granted bail on the same day and the High Court suspending the sentence the next day. But our Amma was sent to prison and she was put through severe hardship. It took her three weeks to get bail and that too from the apex court,” said the spokesperson.
The AIADMK leader said the treatment given to Salman Khan was a clear proof of double standard and discrimination. “Here is a popular leader, a three-time chief minister and the undisputed leader of Tamil Nadu. It looks like someone in the judiciary was bent upon sending Amma to jail just to harass her,” said the leader.
If the Karnataka High Court upholds the special court verdict, it is not going to make any major impact in the political landscape of Tamil Nadu at least in the near future. The AIADMK has a brutal majority in the assembly which will ensure a smooth sailing for the party till the next assembly election scheduled for April 2016. “In the eventuality of the High Court upholding the Special Court verdict, Jayalalithaa could approach the Supreme Court with a Special leave Petition under Article 136 of the Constitution,” KT Thomas, former Supreme Court judge, told The Pioneer.
Non-AIADMK parties have started strategizing for the next assembly elections. The DMK, the principal opposition party has made it known to potential allies that it was willing to share power post-elections. The DMK wants to win the next election badly so that it could give a befitting farewell to the ailing Karunanidhi. If it materialises this could lead to the first-ever coalition Government in Tamil Nadu.
“Though it was announced by the party last September that Karunanidhi (93) would be its chief ministerial candidate, the party is having serious second thoughts about fielding the grand old man of India politics who has been confined to a hi-tech wheel chair for another battle. With Stalin, the heir apparent, proving himself to be a disaster in the 2014 lok Sabha election, the DMK has understood that it needs the support of all other parties to take on Jayalalithaa,” said Ramesh Sethuraman, political commentator