The Tamil Nadu government has contradicted its former Chief Secretary by telling the Commission of Inquiry looking into the death of Jayalalithaa that an October 2016 meeting of its cabinet did not discuss the treatment being provided to the former Chief Minister, who was still hospitalised.
In an October 31, 2018 letter to the Justice (Retd.) A. Arumughaswamy Commission, Chief Secretary (CS) Girija Vaidyanathan said that the cabinet meeting of October 19 only passed a resolution praying for Jayalalithaa’s speedy recovery: there was no agenda item regarding the then Chief Minister’s treatment.
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P. Rama Mohana Rao, Chief Secretary during Jayalalithaa’s hospitalisation, had told the Commission on October 24 that he had prepared a note about shifting Jayalalithaa abroad and placed it before an “October-end, 2016” meeting of the State Cabinet.
Ms. Vaidyanathan’s letter was one of the two from the State government to the Commission, the other was received on October 29, 2018. They were in responses to two letters from the Commission asking a number of questions to the government.
In her second letter, the incumbent Chief Secretary also said that, even after a survey of the files of the Public and Health Department, the government was unable to find any reports by Mr. Rao to O. Panneerselvam about him signing the Apollo Hospital procedure records along with V.K. Sasikala. At the time, Mr. Panneerselvam was also handling the hospitalised Chief Minister’s portfolios.
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The government has also informed the Commission that Apollo Hospitals’ Chairman Dr. Prathap C. Reddy and doctors of the Critical Care Unit “regularly, on a daily basis” briefed a group of individuals from the government. There is also an indication that these briefings took place in the mornings: all ministers who visited the hospital daily would normally attend, while senior ministers would join in at times.
Others who were briefed include: Chief Secretary, advisor to the Chief Minister Sheela Balakrishnan, available Secretaries to the Chief Minister, Health Secretary and his Minister and Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M. Thambi Durai.
Ms. Vaidyanathan also informed the Commission that because of these briefings, the then-Chief Secretary did not have to submit a separate report about the health status of Jayalalithaa.
More inquiries
Tamil Nadu government's Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan on Friday told the Commission that incumbent deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam had never approached him with concerns of the treatment provided to the former Chief Minister during the two months he was himself CM after her death.
After being sworn in on the same night as Jayalalithaa's death, Mr. Panneerselvam resigned on February 5, 2017. Sources said that Mr. Radhakrishnan, had also said that — to the best of his knowledge — Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami has not yet raised doubts about the nature of Jayalalithaa’s death.
The statements of the Principal Secretary (Health) about the incumbent Chief Minister and his deputy were extracted during a cross-examination by V.K. Sasikala’s lawyer N. Raja Senthoor Pandian.
The Commission has also asked Mr. Radhakrishnan to return on December 18; counsel for both Sasikala and Apollo Hospitals are to complete their cross-examination.
Mr. Radhakrishnan said that Jayalalithaa did not require to be taken abroad for treatment. He added that the former Chief Minister was provided treatment that conformed to international standards.
He said that it would have been a shame for Indian doctors if the leader was shifted abroad, as they are capable of providing the same level of care.
On Friday, the Commission also examined three servants who had been employed by Jayalalithaa. Devika, Sivayogam and Bhoomika were identified by a team led by Police Inspector Kanagasabhapathi, who has been appointed to aide the Commission.
Servants questioned
One of the three women recollected that she had seen Jayalalithaa lean on Sasikala’s shoulder at home the night of her hospitalisation. Another told the Commission that a modified elevator was put in place to welcome the former Chief Minister; her aides were preparing for Jayalalithaa to be discharged mid-December.
A source said when the Commission had asked the women if they had heard or seen a commotion at the house the night of Jayalalithaa’s hospitalisation — they replied in the negative.