Hours after a video of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa lying on a hospital bed in Chennai was released on Wednesday, 20 December, TTV Dhinakaran’s camp said that supporter P Vetrivel uploaded it without Dhinakaran’s permission.
DMK’s working president MK Stalin said that Jayalalithaa’s death “has not only been a mysterious one but has been politicised to its lowest level after the release of this video.” He added that the video will not have any impact on the RK Nagar bypoll.
Dhinakaran was not permitted to speak to the media, as per the election code of conduct, which came into force in RK Nagar, the bypoll for which would be held on 21 December.
Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Rajesh Lakhoni told The Quint that the video, taken when Jayalalithaa was still alive, was a violation of Section 126 1(b) of the Representation of People’s Act which prohibits display of any ‘election matter’, inter alia, on TV during the period of 48 hours fixed for conclusion of polls.
The penalty is two years imprisonment. We will first take action on the person who has released the video. And after investigation, we will find out if TTV Dhinakaran is responsible...Media houses are requested not to telecast the video.Rajesh Lakhoni, Chief Election Officer, to The Quint
AIADMK leader and State Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said the video was released with the intention of influencing the RK Nagar bypoll. “Why was it not released earlier? Why one day before polls?” he asked, adding that the Election Commission needs to take “immediate action” against P Vetrivel.
Jayalalithaa had Z-plus security category, so who crossed all the security and shot this video? There is no clarity as to when this video was shot. She (Sasikala) has visited the hospital before for several other reasons... When Jayalalithaa was alive, she was troubled by Sasikala and family. And today, with the intention of winning the election, they have once again troubled Amma.D Jayakumar, AIADMK leader
The video shows a frail-looking Jayalalithaa, with an intravenous drip attached to her hand, laying on a hospital bed, presumably watching TV.
The video was released by Dhinakaran supporter MLA P Vetrivel, who gave up his seat in RK Nagar for Jayalalithaa’s comeback.
It is false to say that no one met Jayalalithaa in hospital. There’s video proof. We waited for days before releasing it, but we are doing it now as we were left with no option. The inquiry commission hasn’t summoned us yet, if it does we’ll submit evidence to them.P Vetrivel, AIADMK MLA, to ANI
He added that the visuals have nothing to do with the bypolls. “Election is a very small issue, this is much larger. We will show more videos of Amma,” he said.
The News Minute quoted Thanga Tamizhchelvan, a supporter of Dhinakaran as saying: “People have been casting aspersions on the circumstances of her death for so long. We have digested this for so long. I've never seen Amma in hospital. Now I am satisfied that Amma was in hospital. How can we stand such a denigration of her death?”
C Rajasekaran, another Dhinakaran supporter, told a news channel: “As a common man and supporter of Jayalalithaa, I was feeling bad there was no video to substantiate the fact that she was being treated in hospital…I don’t want to attribute a motive to this video. It’s not about the RK Nagar bypolls at all…We care about her life. This shows that all those theories that floated about how she allegedly died earlier and that we were quiet about it are fake.”
(This is a developing story)
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