Jayalalithaa death probe: Tamil Nadu govt gives Arumughaswamy Commission another 6 months

The Tamil Nadu government has extended the tenure of the Arumughaswamy Commission probing the death of former CM J Jayalalithaa - making it the 10th extension given to the commission. The AIADMK-led Tamil Nadu government announced the extension of the tenure for the Commission led by Justice Arumughaswamy for another six months. The Arumughaswamy Commission was formed on September 25, 2017, following the demand for a probe into the late AIADMK supremo's death by the party cadre, and has examined 154 witnesses till date, including ex-CM Jayalalithaa's former aide V Sasikala. 

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The Commission also faces a legal hurdle at the Supreme Court after Apollo Hospitals filed a plea to stop the proceedings of the Arumughaswamy Commission, citing that the latter was allegedly working in a biased manner. In response to this, the Commission asked the TN government to file a petition revoking the stay, however, the matter is still pending in the SC. However, the Commission is yet to table its report. 

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DMK claims OPS dodged Arumughaswamy Commission

On January 2, DMK supremo MK Stalin had attempted to corner Tamil Nadu Deputy CM O Pannerselvam for allegedly 'dodging' the Arumughaswamy Commission investigating the death of Jayalalithaa and slammed the commission for not making a breakthrough in the case so far. Addressing a gram sabha at Coimbatore on January 2, MK Stalin pointed out that it was OPS, not DMK, who had claimed that there was a mystery behind Jayalalithaa's death and that the DMK was hell-bent to find the culprit behind the death of the former CM and punish him. DMK and Stalin have on earlier occasions launched attacks on the AIADMK govt and the Arumughaswamy Commission for failing to ascertain the cause of Jayalalithaa's death four years on. 

READ | EPS Says Stalin's Dream Of Becoming Tamil Nadu CM Will Never Come True; DMK Chief Responds

Taking on TN Dy CM OPS, MK Stalin highlighted that the senior AIADMK leader had been called eight times by the Arumughaswamy Commission to record his statement but allegedly skipped the summons. Further, Stalin claimed that OPS had stitched a deal with EPS and had accepted the position of Deputy CM. The DMK supremo pointed out that Jayalalithaa was elected as Tamil Nadu's CM by the people and slammed Edappadi Palaniswami for projecting himself as the CM face in the upcoming polls and claimed that the OPS camp & alliance partner BJP did not accept it. 

Tamil Nadu Assembly elections

Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu are due in April-May 2021 and the political parties have started their campaign. While DMK's MK Stalin is eyeing becoming Chief Minister for the first time, CM E Palaniswami (EPS) is fighting for his re-election. The BJP is yet to make a formal announcement of the alliance with AIADMK and is in talks with Stalin's estranged brother MK Alagiri. On the other side, AIADMK has said that they are the big-brother within the NDA alliance. Meanwhile, Kamal Hassan has put a halt to his campaign trail due to a leg surgery. Superstar Rajinikanth who was about to launch his party this year has backed out due to health reasons. Now, given the latest extension, the commission's report can only arrive after the upcoming elections, at the earliest.

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