Jayalalithaa answers 380 questions in court, will return tomorrow

Mangalore Today / PTI

Bangalore, Oct 20:  Jayaram Jayalalithaa sat right before the judge and answered 380 questions as a Bangalore trial court recorded her statement in connection with a Rs. 66-crore disproportionate assets case today.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister "gave very crisp, to the point and relevant answers to the judge," her lawyer BN Kumar said. She will be back in court tomorrow as court proceedings continue. That will entail flying back to Chennai by her special aircraft and returning tomorrow morning to Bangalore. Ms Jayalalithaa chose not to stay overnight in Karnataka.

 

This is Ms Jayalalithaa’s first-ever appearance before the trial court hearing the case. The Tamil Nadu CM is accused no 1 in the case that charges her with accumulating wealth disproportionate to her known sources of income during a previous tenure as CM between 1991 and 1996. Three other people accused, including Ms Jayalilathaa’s close friend Sasikala, were present in court. No one was allowed inside the court hall except those involved with the case. The retinue of Tamil Nadu ministers that came with the Chief Minister, had to stay out too.

As the court broke for lunch, Ms Jayalalithaa retired to her special SUV that had been driven down from Chennai. Her lunch is said to have been the vegetable sandwiches that she favours on high-stress days.

A reluctant Ms Jayalalithaa was in Bangalore today because the Supreme Court repeatedly rejected her attempts to skip an appearance. Yesterday, the apex court ordered her to appear in the Bangalore court, rejecting her concerns about inadequate security after the Karnataka government promised that it would give her top-notch security. Bangalore Police Commissioner Jyothiprakash Mirji said today, "We will provide security for her for as many days as the court wants."

The elaborate security arrangement, expected to stay in place for a second day tomorrow, includes sanitising the route from the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) airport, where Ms Jayalalithaa’s special aircraft landed, to the court, which opposite Bangalore’s Central Jail. The court is a virtual fortress; no private vehicle is allowed within one and a half kilometres. Section 144 has been imposed around the court till the hearing is over.

Ms Jayalalithaa has Z plus security in Bangalore. Apart from National Security Guard commandos escorting her, there are 1,500 police personnel from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka on security duty. The first ring of security around the Chief Minister is made up of 500 policemen from her state. The Tamil Nadu CM flew in by special aircraft today, got into her special car that has a light focused in a way that people can see her spotlighted in it and drove up to the court in a convoy of 26 cars. As she drove up, Ms Jayalalithaa waved to people. A number of workers from her party, the AIADMK, are in Bangalore to support their leader.

The disproportionate assets case dates back to 1996 when the DMK government, then in power, suo motu filed the case against Ms Jayalalithaa, based on complaints made by the DMK’s K Anbazhagan and Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy. Ms Jayalalithaa has denied all charges and termed it as political vendetta. This is one of several cases filed against her after her controversial tenure as Chief Minister then.

The case was moved out of Tamil Nadu to Karnataka to ensure a fair trial.

A one-kg gold waistband that she liked to wear 15 years ago is among the many things that brought attention to her wealth. After jewellery worth several crore rupees was seized from Ms Jayalalithaa’s house then in connection with the corruption case, she vowed not to wear any ornaments or her famous cape. It was only once she swept to victory in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections this year that she began sporting a pair of solitaire diamond studs in her ears again.

Among the assets under scrutiny in the case are farm houses and bungalows in Chennai; vast tracts of agricultural land in Tamil Nadu; a farm house in Hyderabad; a tea estate in the Nilgiris; jewelry worth crores of rupees; industrial sheds; Cash in banks and investments, and a fleet of luxury cars.

In Chennai, DMK chief M Karunanidhi sounded satisfied at his bete noir being forced to go to Bangalore. "Jayalalithaa has bowed to justice," he said. He said the Tamil Nadu CM had "obtained adjournments only to skip personal appearance in court. But after court’s intervention she has appeared." Mr Karunanidhi also said he would not seek Ms Jayalalithaa’s resignation this time: "I will not seek her resignation. It’s her habit."