Speculation is rife about Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s health, and the secrecy surrounding it raises the issue of the right to privacy versus the public interest.
AN ambulance pulled up at the entry to the emergency room (ER) of the Apollo Hospitals on Greams Road in Chennai on September 22 around 8:45 p.m. The ER responders wheeled the patient, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, into the facility. She was unconscious and had to be resuscitated, said two sources, independent of one another. With her in the ambulance was her trusted aide, Sasikala. Her secretary for all practical purposes, Poongundran, who followed in a vehicle behind, was at the ER.
There was some surprise as the patient was wheeled in. This was because the first call from Veda Nilayam, the Poes Garden residence of Jayalalithaa, was not to Apollo because it was too risky—too many people would have known of the Chief Minister’s arrival and security needed to be taken care of.
The first call was from a seasoned medical professional in Poes Garden to Preetha Reddy, Apollo’s most familiar face and the well-regarded daughter of its founder, Dr Prathap C. Reddy. Despite her recent change in designation to vice chairperson, Preetha Reddy remains the point of contact for most of the city’s elite and is known to be accessible, helpful, discreet and dependable. She asked for an ambulance to Cathedral Road but did not disclose the destination to the driver. But, as the vehicle made its way on Cathedral Road, the destination was given to the driver.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
