In a timeline of events that can best be described as tragic, it would appear that former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MG Ramachandran (MGR), who was suffering from kidney ailments at the time, was made aware of the assassination of then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi many days after her passing, when he regained consciousness. In an interview to Cinema Vikatan, director Bhagyaraj, who was known to be close to the late AIADMK supremo, recounted the moment MGR found out about the passing of PM Indira Gandhi.
Being interviewed by his mentee and yesteryear Tamil actor-director Pandiaraj, Bhagyaraj was asked, “You’ve been very close to the great man over the years. Is there any question you wanted to ask him but couldn’t?” According to director Bhagyaraj, Indira Gandhi visited MGR, as he was popularly known, when he was admitted to Apollo Hospital in Chennai in 1984. The AIADMK chief was unconscious and the then Prime Minister reportedly said that action needed to be taken immediately regarding his health. However, in a tragic sequence of events, the Prime Minister was assassinated by members of her own security detail on October 31, 1984 shortly after the visit.
“She called everyone and informed them about the necessary action to be taken and he also left to the United States. After he regained consciousness and the surgery was successful, he was told about all that happened. He was also told that she said she would take care of all the expenses. He said to dial her, he wanted to call her. He was told she was busy with some work. And then he said, “Hey, I told you to dial her in the afternoon and then in the evening.” Everyone including Periasamy (an aide who was taking care of him) was shocked when he wanted to call her. She had died by then.”
His aides were reportedly in a dilemma as to how to tell the leader about the late Prime Minister’s death. “When he said he wanted to thank her three to four times, there was no other go. He was told (about her death). After being told, he didn’t eat anything the whole day. He didn’t take his medicines. He felt for her and kept crying.”
Recalling another incident when MGR was recuperating in the United States following a surgery, Bhagyaraj said that the leader was upset when an advertisement proclaiming his victory as Chief Minister was bigger than the proclamation for Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
“Palani Periasamy (a close aide in the US) was taking care of him. He was running a publication (in the US). MGR had won the 1984 Assembly elections following his surgery (from the United States). He became CM and Rajiv Gandhi became the PM. They wanted a big picture of him on the cover page so they put MGR’s image prominently and the PM’s image a little smaller.”
When the publication was reportedly handed over to MGR, he placed it down and didn’t say anything about it. When he was finally asked whether he liked it, he reportedly said that he didn’t. “He is the PM. I’m the CM. This can be a Tamil book in Tamil but we are from Tamil Nadu, from India. So I should have been smaller and the PM bigger.” he reasoned.
Watch the full interview here:
[embedded content]
Source: The News Minute