Jayalalithaa held Cauvery discussions at Apollo, former chief-secretary asserts

Former Tamil Nadu chief-secretary Rammohan Rao has told the probe panel looking into the mysterious circumstances which preceded the December, 2016 demise of former chief-minister J. Jayalalithaa that the late leader held discussions with senior officials and Ministers at her Hospital bed within five of days of getting admitted.

Justice Arumuga Swamy (Retd.) Commission of Inquiry (COI) has been interrogating all those who were in some way related to Jayalalithaa’s hospitalization: her personal staff members, doctors from Apollo, politicians, relatives, former aide Sasikala, her acquaintances, etc.  It turns out that many had blamed Sasikala’s role in the late leader’s demise following which summons were issued to her to depose before the COI.

In response, Sasikala demanded that she be provided with details of those who deposed against her and their testimonies.  She also requested to cross-examine them before she deposed before the COI.  After she was provided what she demanded, her counsel has been cross-examining the witnesses.  Doctors Balaji, Kala, Padmarajan, Britto, M.N. Shankar and Muthuselvam, M.K. Muralidharan and S. Dinesh, Deepak, former bureaucrats Sheila Balakrishnan and Rammohan Rao deposed yesterday.

Speaking to newsmen later after deposing, Rao said that it was a fact that Jayalalithaa held Cauvery discussions for two hours on 27th September (within five days of her admission to Hospital) which was attended by Ministers OPS, EPS, Dindigul Srinivasan, C. Vijayabhaskar, Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Thambithurai and Sheila Balakrishnan.  “Though Thambithurai was keen to take Jayalalithaa abroad for better treatment, it didn’t occur for some reasons,” Rao said, without revealing the reasons.