Jayalalithaa refused to travel abroad for treatment: Sasikala

J Jayalalithaa refused to travel abroad for further treatment despite advice from doctors who flew from different countries to decide on her treatment protocol and maintained that she received “best care” in her home state of Tamil Nadu, the former chief minister’s long-time friend V K Sasikala said on Friday.

Sasikala also said Jayalalithaa’s health, which witnessed significant improvements during her stay at the Apollo Hospitals, suffered a “sudden setback” on December 4, 2016, and that she passed away the next day. She also said they had plans to discharge the former chief minister from the hospital on December 19 but “all our plans went for a toss.”

The former AIADMK interim general secretary was responding to findings of the Justice A Arumughaswamy Commission which blamed her and others for not taking Jayalalithaa abroad for further treatment. The commission has recommended an inquiry against Sasikala, and three others in connection with Jayalalithaa’s death.

“The doctors told Amma (Jayalalithaa) about their plans to shift her abroad. She didn’t agree to their plans, and she rejected them outright. She told them Chennai was a medical hub and she was receiving the best treatment here. She told us to get experts from abroad to come and visit her, but she refused to leave (Chennai),” Sasikala said.

She also said there was “nothing to hide” with regard to Jayalalithaa’s health condition as the hospital issued regular bulletins about her health. Sasikala also said doctors from AIIMS, government hospitals in Chennai, and those from Apollo Hospitals jointly decided Jayalalithaa’s treatment protocol and everything is in public domain.

To a question, Sasikala said Jayalalithaa suffered a cardiac arrest when she was watching television. “We had plans to discharge her on December 19. And Amma herself selected gifts for the nurses and doctors who attended to her at the hospital. She instructed us to get all the gifts ready by December 15, she passed away on December 5,” she added.

Sasikala said she gave detailed answers to questions from the Commission during her jail term. The Commission, in its report, has found fault with V K Sasikala, Sivakumar, K the then Health Minister C Vijayabaskar, and Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan for not acting on advice of doctors, including the suggestion to perform an angiogram and a cardiac surgery on Jayalalithaa.

On politics, Sasikala said she has already begun work on “uniting all factions” of the AIADMK to ensure the party’s victory in 2024 Lok Sabha polls. “The AIADMK will be one unit during the 2024 polls, and we will win the elections. The party is now split because of the individual interests of those who are administering it. Things will change soon,” she said.