Don't fiddle with gold held by people, Jaya told Modi in last days: report

Chennai: Late AIADMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa scribbled a note meant for Prime Minister Narendra Modi from hospital on December 2, urging him not to interfere with the amount of gold owned by Indians as it was a "matter of sentiment".

According to a report in Firstpost, Jayalalithaa with some difficulty, scribbled the short note addressed to Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary P Rama Mohana Rao, to be forwarded to Modi’s representative in the state.

The note was later shown to Tamil Nadu in-charge Governor Vidyasagar Rao, perhaps with an intention that the message will be conveyed by the Centre's representative in Tamil Nadu to the Prime Minister, said the report.

The report claims this as proof that Jayalalithaa was fully aware of what was happening around her, especially the chaos caused by demonetisation, just three days before she suffered a cardiac arrest which would turn out to be fatal.

On Sunday evening, sometime between 4.30 pm and 5 pm, Jayalalithaa was watching TV in her room when she suffered a cardiac arrest. She never recovered from this, being declared dead at 11:30 pm the next day at Apollo Hospitals.

The report also adds that every single decision from then on, on what and how to do next, was taken with Sasikala's concurrence. No one had any problems receiving instructions from Sasikala, Jayalalithaa’s confidante for nearly 30 years.

The report states that it was Sasikala who took the decision that Jayalalithaa's resting place will be next to the MGR Memorial on Marina Beach.

Meanwhile, Governor Rao was keeping the PM informed directly about the developments at Apollo Hospitals. Modi and Rao interacted via telephone several times, said the report.

The PM was keen that the Governor ensure there was no breakdown of law and order situation, and asked him to take charge till the new government was in control.

It was decided around 4 pm that Jayalalithaa's demise will be announced at 7 pm, says the Firstpost report, adding that the AIADMK top brass panicked when a Tamil news channel claimed , at 5:30 pm itself that Jayalalithaa had died.

Fearing that the emotional AIADMK cadre would take matters into their own hands, it was then decided that the announcement of Jayalalithaa’s death would be made close to midnight, by which time the crowds would have thinned.

Earlier, another report had said that Jayalalithaa had died in the Critical Care Unit at 2 pm itself.

Apollo Hospitals however, denies that it put out any wrong information under pressure from the political dispensation, claiming that the end came only at 11:30 pm.