Narendra Modi, Amit Shah laud Jayalalithaa’s legacy

BJP leaders paid tributes of late Jayalalithaa on her birth anniversary

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami (right) and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam pay tribute to Jayalalithaa on her birth anniversary at the AIADMK headquarters in Chennai on February 24, 2019.

Less than a week after inking a pre-poll alliance with the AIADMK and the PMK in Tamil Nadu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah paid fulsome tributes to late chief minister Jayalalithaa on her birth anniversary on Sunday. Some party leaders even termed her a “proud Hindu” in the face of “Dravidian politics” in the State.

While Mr. Modi and Jayalalithaa had a political equation till just after the 2014 general elections, the new warmth appears to be wholly due to the alliance with AIADMK, with the BJP counting on the late leader’s charisma and party organisation to get significant numbers for the NDA, considered a non-starter earlier.

“Tributes to Jayalalithaa

Ji on her birth anniversary. Her contribution towards the development of Tamil Nadu will be remembered for generations. A fine administrator and compassionate leader, her welfare measures benefited countless poor people,” Mr. Modi tweeted. Party president Amit Shah too offered tributes, stating that “she will continue to be fondly remembered as Amma for generations”.

‘Hindu icon’

Ms Jayalalithaa’s image is also being reworked with Tamil Nadu BJP Yuva Morcha vice-president S.G. Surya terming her a “proud Hindu.”

“In a State where Dravidian torch bearers abused Hinduism to the hilt, (she) openly displayed her Hindu beliefs and adorned as proud Hindu. Without her in the scene Hinduism in Tamil Nadu would’ve been at worst state now. Real fighter. 72nd Birth Anniversary,” Mr. Surya tweeted.