Jaya is healthy, says AIADMK; UK doctor flown in to examine her

Chennai: AIADMK on Saturday asserted that its hospitalised party supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa is “healthy” even as a doctor from the UK has reportedly been flown in to examine the 68-year-old leader.

“Amma (Jayalalithaa) is healthy. She needs rest as per doctors’ advice and will return in good health,” senior AIADMK leader and former Minister P Valaramathi told reporters.

She said Jayalalithaa was performing official duties and pointed out that she had even announced the party’s candidates for this month’s civic polls while being hospitalised.

“Some jealous people are carrying out a wrong campaign to confuse people by spreading rumours” about Jayalalithaa’s health, she said.

Meanwhile, the Apollo Hospitals, where Jayalalithaa has been hospitalised for treatment for fever and dehydration, reportedly flew in UK-based Dr Richard John Beal to examine the Chief Minister.

Jayalalithaa was admitted to the hospital on September 22 after she complained of fever and dehydration.

She has been advised to stay for a few days at the hospital.

DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Friday demanded that Governor Vidyasagar Rao should take steps to ensure that the true health condition of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa is revealed to the people with appropriate evidence through the media. In a strongly worded statement in Chennai, he pointed out that the Governor had not visited the CM even though she has been in hospital for a week now.

Keeping her health condition under wraps is triggering rumours in social media, he said and added that it would not be improper to release her pictures at the Apollo Hospital to clear the confusion and quell the rumours, especially when reports came out that she was discharging the government duties from the hospital bed.

The state information department had on September 27 claimed the CM had that evening held an hour-long meeting in her Apollo hospital room with chief secretary, advocate general and other senior officials on the Cauvery issue and dictated her speech to be read out at the meeting convened by the Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati in Delhi on September 29.

PTI