Jaitley, Shah visit Jaya as concerns over health mount

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley and BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday visited Apollo Hospitals in Chennai where Jayalalithaa is undergoing treatment. The chief minister was admitted to Apollo Hospitals on September 22 for fever and dehydration. According to a recent medical bulletin, the chief minister requires a longer stay in the hospital.

The two BJP leaders arrived in Chennai around 12.30pm. They reached Apollo Hospitals on  Greams Road at 2.10pm, spent around 25 minutes inside and left the premises at 2.35pm.

Jaitley later tweeted: “Visited Apollo hospital Chennai today. I wish J Jayalalithaa Ji, chief minister of Tamil Nadu, a speedy recovery.” Amit Shah also posted a tweet, saying: “Visited Apollo Hospital in Chennai to enquire about the health of Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa Ji. I wish and pray for her speedy recovery.”

The two leaders were accompanied by the minister of state for road transport, highways and shipping Pon Radhakrishnan and BJP leaders Tamilisai Soundararajan, L Ganesan and H Raja. Neither tweets by the two leaders, nor the medical bulletin shed any clarity on the matter.

Speculation on her health peaked after her portfolios were allocated to her trusted aide O Paneerselvam, who has also been designated to preside over the cabinet meetings during her period of hospitalization.

Meanwhile, chief minister’s longtime rival DMK president M Karunanidhi on Wednesday expressed his doubts over a Raj Bhavan statement which said Governor C Vidyasagar Rao had allocated chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s portfolios to finance minister O Panneerselvam “based on her advice.”

“Jayalalithaa has been in the hospital for the past 19 days and was advised a longer stay there. Several leaders, including the Governor, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu and others, were not allowed to see or wish Jayalalithaa in person when they visited the Apollo Hospitals where she is undergoing treatment. 

However, it is amazing that the statement issued by the Raj Bhavan on Tuesday said the reallocation of the portfolios had been done based on the advice of Jayalalithaa,” said Karunanidhi in a statement.