Chennai: Authorities in Tamil Nadu put police on high alert on Monday, fearing an outbreak of civil unrest after one of the country’s most popular leaders J. Jayalalithaa suffered a cardiac arrest. Doctors treating the 68-year-old former film star, who enjoys an almost god-like status in Tamil Nadu which she rules as chief minister, said she was in critical condition and had been admitted to intensive care. On Monday television footage showed crowds praying for the chief minister, who is known simply as “Amma” (mother), many of them in tears. Jayalalithaa earned the loyalty of many voters in Tamil Nadu with a series of highly populist schemes including an “Amma canteen” that provides lunch for just three rupees (five cents). In 2014 she was briefly forced to step down as chief minister after she was jailed on corruption charges.

Source: Mint December 05, 2016 09:08 UTC