The heavy northeast monsoon rain did not deter thousands of AIADMK cadre who gathered to catch a glimpse of party general secretary Jayalalithaa on Saturday evening, as she returned to the city after being released on bail in the disproportionate assets case.
Ms. Jayalalithaa, who left the Parapanna Agrahara prison in Bangalore with a grim face after 21 days of incarceration, entered her Poes Garden residence looking happy.
Ms. Jayalalithaa arrived by a special aircraft that landed at Chennai around 4.50 p.m. She was accompanied by her friend V.K. Sasikala and J. Ilavarasi, both convicted with her in the case and also released on bail.
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Five minutes later, she came out of the airport's operational area and rolled down her car window to have a word with senior party leaders including E. Madhusudhanan, Visalakshi Nedunchezhiyan, C. Ponnaiyan and Panruti S. Ramachandran.
Driving home, Ms. Jayalalithaa waved and showed the victory sign to the thousands of cadre who thronged the roads, waiting in the rain for hours. At Kotturpuram, the convoy stopped for a minute for her to offer prayers from the car at the Varasiddhi Vinayagar Temple.
The Bangalore Special Court on Saturday secured bonds for Rs. 1 crore each and two solvent sureties for the like sum from eight private individuals before issuing orders to the Bangalore Central Prison for releasing Ms. Jayalalithaa and three others. AIADMK’s Karnataka State unit secretary V. Pugazhendi and his wife Gunajothi were among the eight individuals.
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Crowds throng streets
Jubilant party cadre braved heavy monsoon rains to accord AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa a rapturous welcome on Saturday following her release on bail from the Parapana Aghrahara Central Prison in Bangalore.
“Right from the moment she came out of the airport gate, Amma was visibly happy. She showed no signs of tiredness. She looked fresh, relaxed and determined,” said a senior party member. “We informed her that the cadre have been praying for her good health and told her that she would always emerge victorious. She did not reply but smiled at each of us,” a senior leader said.
All through the roads to her residence at Poes Garden, the party cadres beginning from the GST Road thronged in large numbers mainly to cheer their leader, waving at ‘Amma,’ expressing solidarity with her.
Since the AIADMK leader is under the ‘Z-Plus’ category security cover, hundreds of police personnel were deployed on the way. As the convoy moved through the GST Road to Guindy, the cadres greeted her with showers of flowers bringing a smile to her face.