Reward for loyalty

By S. Annamalai

MADURAI, JUNE 27. The elevation of the giant-killer, Mrs. Valarmathi Jebaraj, as Minister for Backward Classes Welfare is a reward for her unflinching loyalty to the leader.

Drawn by the charisma of MGR into the AIADMK fold at the tender age of seven, Mrs. Valarmathi Jebaraj has never looked back. The holder of B.Sc. and LL.B degrees, she was educated and married off by her mentor, Ms. Jayalalithaa. The 35-year-old leader of the women's wing of the AIADMK shot into prominence through her firebrand oration when she was made a `headquarters speaker' in 1983. She also served as the chairperson of the Tamil Nadu Women Development Corporation during 1991-96.

What brought her closer to the AIADMK supremo in recent days was the pasting of mega posters in the city hailing Ms. Jayalalithaa as `Pen Periyar' by Mrs. Valarmathi Jebaraj. This happened at a time when Ms. Jayalalithaa was criticised for her `anti-Periyar ways', despite being the leader of a Dravidian party. Ms. Jayalalithaa spent more time in Madurai West, from where Mrs. Valarmathi Jebaraj contested, during her election campaign than in any of the constituencies of the AIADMK candidates in the region.

Mrs. Valarmathi Jebaraj, contacted for her reaction, said she would speak about her feelings after getting the `blessings of Amma'. In the May 10 election, she defeated the then Speaker, Mr. P. T. R. Palanivel Rajan, by a very narrow margin.

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