Extreme devotion

Elated over the victory of the AIADMK-led alliance in the recent Assembly elections,32-year-old K Saritha from Ramanathapuram visited a temple on the day of counting and cut off her tongue and offered it to the presiding deity.

Extreme devotion

Elated over the victory of the AIADMK-led alliance in the recent Assembly elections,32-year-old K Saritha from Ramanathapuram visited a temple on the day of counting and cut off her tongue and offered it to the presiding deity. Last week,Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa gave her financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh and also a government job at an anganwadi centre,which has raised questions over giving recognition to such acts. On Sunday,Vani,a 45-year-old AIADMK worker from Salem,chopped off her right thumb,apparently fulfilling a vow she had taken for the return of the AIADMK to power. Luckily for her,doctors were able to rejoin her severed thumb. Heres hoping there are no more repeat performances.

Party before family

Its not just the cadres who are outdoing each other to show their devotion to their party chief. First-time minister R B Udayakumar declared he wont wear any footwear whenever he is at the Secretariat and also while hes in the presence of Jayalalithaa. But according to sources close to the minister,Jaya has directed him to start wearing shoes.

Another first-time minister,ST Chellapandian,too recently displayed how much the party mattered to him. He skipped his daughters wedding on May 23 at Tuticorin,staying back back in Chennai because it coincided with the swearing-in of the newly-elected MLAs. Amma and the party,said the minister,were more important than family.

Missing the chair

Till the other day,he was the prince,the obvious claimant for his fathers chair. But after the election results were out,DMK leader MK Stalin had trouble finding not only a chair but even a place to stand.

After his party was reduced to the third spot,the 22-member DMK was literally sidelined inside the House when the newly-elected members were sworn in. Stalin and many other DMK MLAs arrived for the swearing-in just before the ceremony began. But by then the chamber was full with boisterous members from the ruling party and its allies,leaving little space for the once-all-powerful leaders. Finally,it took some effort on part of the DMK members to find a seat for their Thalapathi in the back row.

Full House

The present Tamil Nadu Assembly will,for a change,register the presence of both the ruling and the Opposition parties. For years,the leader of the losing side stayed away from House proceedings as a general principleChief Minister J Jayalalithaa and former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi were followers of this principle who marked their presence by merely signing the register kept outside the hall once in six months to keep their membership alive. This time,however,it may be a different House. While Jayalalithaa is the Chief Minister,her electoral ally actor-politician Vijayakanth is the leader of the Opposition by virtue of being the leader of the second biggest party in the House.