Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
NEW DELHI: Jayalalithaa’s widely expected return as chief minister has reportedly been delayed over a possible appeal by Karnataka against her acquittal in a corruption case on Monday.
Sources in her AIADMK party say the 67-year-old is waiting for a move by the Karnataka government, which had said yesterday that it is examining whether the decision to clear Jayalalithaa was based on flawed math.
O Panneerselvam, who stepped in as chief minister after Jayalalithaa’s conviction by a trial court last year and has never objected to being described as her proxy, went to her Poes Garden residence in Chennai with 19 other Tamil Nadu ministers on Wednesday.
The meeting took place amid speculation that the Tamil Nadu government is prepping for Ms Jayalalithaa’s swearing in.
On Monday, the Karnataka High Court cancelled Jayalalithaa’s conviction and four-year jail sentence saying that she had been incorrectly charged with accumulating wealth disproportionate to her known sources of income during her first term as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
High Court judge Justice CR Kumaraswamy had said that he based his decision on a calculation of her assets that suggested that unaccounted wealth was about 8 per cent of her income, which was “within the permissible limit of 10 per cent”.
But the prosecution and Jayalalithaa’s political rivals have alleged that the judge miscalculated the former chief minister’s illegal wealth, that it far exceeds the limit and is in fact, 76 per cent of her known income. As Tamil Nadu opposition parties urged the Karnataka government to appeal against the acquittal, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah yesterday said his government is examining the allegation.
Ms Jayalalithaa had to step down after her conviction in September last year, which left her disqualified as a lawmaker. Sources say she is looking for an auspicious date for her oath ceremony.
For now, all 151 AIADMK legislators are in Chennai and Mr Panneerselvam is said to be ready to resign.
