Jayalalithaa visuals at R-Day fete draw flak

: Conviction in a corruption case has kept her away from the Chief Minister’s chair. But that did not stop the State government from stamping AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa’s presence all over the Republic Day parade on the Marina here.

What should have been a routine ritual to celebrate an annual event turned controversial on Monday after almost every tableau of the various State government departments carried with great prominence pictures and cutouts of Ms. Jayalalithaa. Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam was hardly seen in any of the visuals. However, the Public (Elections) Department did not display any picture of Ms. Jayalalithaa.

Two dozen departments showcased their schemes and projects but their main message was not lost to anyone who watched the parade.

Asked why Mr. Panneerselvam, as the serving Chief Minister, did not get enough space in the propaganda materials, Information and Special Programme Implementation Minister, K.T. Rajenthra Balaji told

The Hindu : “Amma [Ms. Jayalalithaa] may not be the Chief Minister now. But the present government is being run with her guidance. After all, she is our leader.” However, he added that “on the tableaux of some departments, Mr. Panneerselvam’s images could be spotted along with that of Amma.”

The DMK was quick to react, with its treasurer M.K. Stalin terming it “shame and indignity.”

“It is sickening to watch what was once one of the leading States of India being pushed to this depth of disrepute and embarrassment,” Mr. Stalin said in a statement. An official says the State’s decision has to be viewed against the backdrop of the recent order of the Madras High Court, which declined to restrain the authorities from displaying the portraits of Ms. Jayalalithaa in government offices and official propaganda materials.