CHENNAI: In a democracy, criticism of a government cannot be suppressed, the Supreme Court warned Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa as it put a hold on cases filed by her against a political rival. Asking her to respond within a month, the judges said, "In a democracy, fair criticism against a government cannot be treated as a defamatory statement against the Chief Minister."
Jayalalithaa has issued 14 cases of defamation against former actor Vijayakanth and his wife Premalatha and colleagues, for discrediting her governance with a series of remarks, including a comment saying the floods that nearly destroyed Chennai in December 2015, was artificially caused. Jaya has a massive following in the region, a glimpse of which was seen in the protests and destruction of public property when she was jailed on corruption charges for nine months in 2012.
She does not interact with the media, and is seen rarely in public, drawing large audiences on the chosen occasions when she appears on the balcony of her residence in Chennai. When she was jailed on corruption charges for nine months in 2012, thousands of her supporters attacked buses and public property in anger; many shaved their heads to convey their mourning. After she was acquitted, she returned to office but the case of collecting illicit wealth during an earlier term has now moved to the Supreme Court. While she was in prison, her replacement, O Paneerselvam, wept while being inducted as Chief Minister and then refused to use her office as a sign of his devotion.
.
