Opinion Not on the streets

On Sunday, a body that claimed to represent private schools in Tamil Nadu and another organisation that announced itself to be an association of private colleges issued press releases announcing that all member schools and colleges would remain closed on Tuesday in solidarity with the jailed AIADMK supremo. The press releases were withdrawn on Monday after the PMK, an NDA constituent, moved the Madras High Court and a large number of managements rightly opposed the move and issued alerts to students that attendance would be compulsory on Tuesday. Supporters of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa are not doing her, or the state, any service by such irresponsible attempts to work up passions in the aftermath of the Bangalore special court verdict in the disproportionate assets case.

The attempt to force schools and colleges to shut down was not an isolated instance. The AIADMK’s IT wing has launched support-Amma campaigns on mobile and online platforms and posters against the judge who convicted Jayalalithaa have come up in many parts of the state. The people behind these campaigns are evidently taking their cue from the party and building on the culture of fear and sycophancy prevalent in the state. But Tamil Nadu’s ruling party needs to sober down and step back, lest the fervent displays of loyalty to the chief escalate into a shadow war against the judiciary. In fact, the AIADMK must do more than that. It must ask its cadres to refrain from activities that attribute motives to the judiciary or question the rule of law. After all, the AIADMK leader was convicted and jailed after due process. She has the right to redress in a higher court and her bail plea is due for hearing. The AIADMK must make it clear that it will wait for the court to review her plea and accept the decision, irrespective of its consequences for the leader.

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By all accounts, AIADMK leaders need to be reminded that democratic politics is about respecting institutions and upholding their autonomy. Tamil Nadu is known to be one of the better governed states in the country and by their irresponsibility now, its leaders would also be letting down its industrious and law-abiding citizens. The AIADMK party and government must let the law take its course in the Jayalalithaa case and focus on their own jobs.