Ever since Jaya passed away, she has been elevated to a 'goddess' in TN However, like so many CMs, she too was corrupt and found guilty of the same. It is not just Sasikala; this verdict taints Jayalalithaa forever as well.
Ever since J Jayalalithaa, the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, passed away on December 5, the effort to elevate ‘Amma’ into a ‘Devi’ has been quite aggressive. Indeed, amid all the ugly squabbling for the CM’s chair, each side is determined to make it clear - they are only doing what Amma would have wanted.
The spirit of Amma was laid on thickly over the past week, and no one seems to feel she was anything less than perfect, if not the greatest Tamil leader ever.
This is far from the case, and far from reality even when she was alive. Indeed, it is important to realise that the current Supreme Court’s verdict has not only found Sasikala guilty but found Jayalalithaa guilty of corruption as well.
The verdict blandly noted that since Jayalalithaa was dead, no sentence would be passed on her and her case would be kept in abeyance. However, since Jayalalithaa was the prime accused and the rest were co-conspirators, it is not possible for them to be found guilty if the Court was not convinced that the main accused was guilty as well.
Indeed, it is only death itself which has kept Jayalalithaa from jail. Otherwise, like last time, she would surely be on her way along with Sasikala to the prison in Bengaluru.
Amid all the chanting and post-death glorification, which is a norm in India when it comes to politicians, at least this one time, thanks to the Supreme Court, we should be able to agree publicly - Jayalalithaa’s legacy has been tainted and will forever now remain that of a ‘convicted for corruption’ leader.
Perhaps it is a sign of how far down this path we have drifted that despite the corruption of our politicians being obvious, we like to say ‘Oh. but a court has never convicted them,’. This is the fig leaf for many a corrupt political. But now Jayalalithaa does not have that either.
A court, indeed the Apex Court of India, found her, Sasikala and several other accused guilty of corruption. If Jayalalithaa were alive, like Sasikala, it would have sentenced her as well to a jail sentence.
Let’s not an unexpected demise blind us to the obvious truth - Jayalalithaa was corrupt, and the Supreme Court found her guilty of it
