The entire country mourned as the former actor and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa, passed away at the Apollo Hospital in Chennai on Monday night. Following an uncertainty-filled 75 days, Jayalalithaa departed after a prolonged illness that worsened post a cardiac arrest on Sunday evening. She was 68.
The sporting fraternity too was deeply grieved at the country’s loss as they took to Twitter to offer their condolences. The hashtag #RipAmma broke Twitter, with sportspersons joining in to pay their respects to the deceased soul.
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From Saina Nehwal to Harsha Bhogle, the entire sports fraternity came together to mourn her loss. Viswanathan Anand, who hails from Tamil Nadu too, looked intimately affected as he tweeted how warm and pleasant a lady she was. Anand had met her in 2012 after winning the World Championship.
According to Indian Express, a statement from the Apollo Hospital on Monday said, “It is with indescribable grief we announce the sad demise of our esteemed honourable chief minister of Tamil Nadu Puratchithalavi Amma at 11.30pm today.” With the news being confirmed “Amma” was taken to her Poes Garden home where a huge crowd of grieving supporters had collected.
Affectionately called ‘Amma’ by people in Tamil Nadu and AIDMK supporters, Jayalalithaa went from being a prolific film star to becoming a four-term and six-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Winner of the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress, her political career was, however, riddled with controversy and she had to step down twice – in 2001 and 2014 – due to corruption-related cases.
The Central government has announced that she will be accorded a state funeral. The state government has also declared seven days’ mourning period, with school and colleges shut for three days.
Her last rites will be performed at the Marina Beach in Chennai at 4.30 PM on Tuesday near the memorial of her mentor MG Ramachandran. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee are slated to be in attendance at her funeral proceedings.
