Today the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister exhibited a good show in the court room with regard to the assets disproportionate case where she was spotted as an accused. On her drive from the airport to the central prison, 26 cars escorted her. Apart from National Security Guard Commandos, there were 1,500 police personnel from Tamil Nadu and Karanataka specially entrusted with the duty to protect her.
Today during the interrogation, she was asked 380 questions in the court room. The Chief Minister is flying back to Chennai tomorrow morning for a second day in court. The extensive security drill will be repeated.
The case filed against her by the DMK rivals, accuses her of misusing an earlier term in office from 1991-1996 to collect assets worth Rs.66 crore which had no clear evidence as to show the source from which she owned the asset at that time. The case was later on transferred from Tamil Nadu to Karnataka in the year 2003 after the DMK said a fair and free trial was unlikely in some state. Ms. Jayalalithaa also dismissed the charges levelled against her stating it as merely a political grudge.
In the last few weeks, she had asked the Supreme Court twice to excempt her from appearing personally in the court. She raised this contention before the Supreme Court on the ground that the Karanataka Government did not provide adequate security arrangements for her visit, and that the airport was too far away from the court. But both the contentions put forward by Jayalalithaa was rejected by the Supreme Court.
Today in the court, she was asked to sit very close to the judge. And only 15 people were allowed to sit inside the court room. She also gave relevant and firm answers to all the questions put forth by the judge.
Along with the Chief Minister, three other people were listed as accused including her constant companion, Shasikala, who was also present with her.
List of assets under the scrutiny in the case are farm houses and bungalows in Chennai, vast tracts of agricultural land in Tamil Nadu, a farm house in Hydrebad, a tea estate in the Nilgris, jewelry worth crores of rupees, industrial sheds, cash in banks and investments, and a fleet of luxury cars.
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