CHENNAI : Taking an exception to the reported deposition of former Chief Secretary P Rama Mohana Rao before the inquiry commission on the death of the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa that a few ministers were present when she suffered a cardiac arrest on December 4, 2016, Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar on Monday said that Rao was ‘echoing’ somebody by making such an allegation and if needed, the commission should issue an order to arrest him to bring out the truth.
“If needed, the inquiry commission should arrest such persons to bring the truth to the light,” the minister said answering queries of media persons here. He also charged that Rao had functioned like a politician even when he was the Chief Secretary of the State.“Whose voice Rama Mohana Rao is echoing now? The people of Tamil Nadu urge the inquiry commission to summon Rao and ask him to clarify the allegation made by him,” the minister added.
On Sunday, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami refuted the allegation of Rao that certain ministers were present at the Apollo Hospitals when Jayalalithaa suffered a cardiac arrest. Talking to media persons at Coimbatore, he said Rao had made this statement only to ‘shield somebody.”
Rao had reportedly told the commission that Electricity Minister P Thangamani, Municipal Administration Minister SP Velumani, Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai and a few others were present when Jayalalithaa suffered a cardiac arrest and that the idea of taking her abroad for treatment was dropped as a few ministers did not revert to him.
Meanwhile, at Namakkal, Thangamani charged that Rao was spreading this false information to satisfy some vested interests whom he had met in Thanjavur a few days ago.However, Thangamani turned the tables on Rao, alleging that indeed it was Rao who failed to revert to a few ministers who had requested him to explore the possibility of taking Jayalalithaa abroad for treatment. Thangamani also said that he along with Social Welfare Minister V Saroja was offering prayers at a temple in R Pudhupatti village in Namakkal, when they got the news that Jayalalithaa had suffered a cardiac arrest. Similarly, Velumani was in Thiruvananthapuram at that time.