Day State Mourning For Amma Announced In Tamil Nadu

Her body was taken to her residence at Poes Garden early on Tuesday morning.

President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid homage to Jayalalithaa by offering flowers at Rajaji Hall in Chennai.

Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, who took oath last night hours after Jayalalithaa died, also traveled on the hearse.

The government and Jayalalitha party member have requested the people of Tamil Nadu not to panic as their leader is still alive.

In the past, when Jayalalithaa faced political problems such as a jail term for corruption, her loyalists threatened to immolate themselves or lie down in streets for buses to run them over.

Siddaramaiah will be visiting Chennai by a special flight to pay his last respects to the departed leader.

“The news of her demise came as a shocker not only for people of Tamil Nadu but for the people of the entire country”.

Notwithstanding Jayalalithaa established herself as Amma in Tamil Nadu through her persona and deeds as the chief minister.

“Selvi Jayalalithaa was a true leader of the masses and her followers fondly called her “Amma”, meaning mother, and “Puratchi Thalaivi” meaning a revolutionary leader”, Mahajan said.

Hundreds of devotees have kept a round-the-clock vigil outside the private Apollo hospital in the state capital Chennai since she was first admitted in September suffering from a fever.

Jayalalithaa passed away at last night in Chennai’s Apollo Hospital around 11.30pm.

The AIADMK and rival DMK party long dominated Tamil Nadu politics, leaving little room for India’s national parties to operate, but Jayalalithaa’s death has provided an opening for them to try to gain influence.

Upon the pursuasion of MG Ramachandran, who later went on to become Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa made her entry into politics.

Defining her as a mass leader, Modi said: “Jayalalithaaji’s connect with citizens, concern for welfare of the poor, the women and marginalised will always be a source of inspiration”. ‘On this basis, (the) Chief Minister was shifted from the advanced Critical Care Unit to the High Dependency Unit, where her health and vitals continued to improve under the close monitoring of our expert panel of specialists’.

Actor Ajith Kumar, who is now shooting for his upcoming yet-untitled Tamil film in Bulgaria, said the news came to him as a “shock”.

She served as Tamil Nadu’s chief minister, the highest elected position in the state of 71 million people, for almost 14 years beginning in 1991.