Kalaignar TV plays up visuals of Jayalalithaa, Sasikala exchanging garlands

While the visuals were innocuous enough, it was the voice over, describing the two women as taking part in a ritual in a temple “like a married couple” that has caused much resentment in AIADMK circles.

The video clip also showed the visuals in slow motion with the narrator making some suggestive remarks.

The occasion happened to be Jayalalithaa’s 60th birthday falling on ‘Maasi Makam’ of the Tamil calendar. She and Sasikala had participated in the ‘ugra ratha shanthi’ or ‘ayush homam’, normally conducted for a person's longevity, at the Thirukkadaiyur temple in Nagapattinam, about 350 kilometres from Chennai. It is customary for men in Tamil Nadu to observe the ‘shashtiabdha poorthi’ along with their wives, exchanging garlands and going through the ritual of “marrying again”.

The closeness shared by Jayalalithaa and Sasikala has always evoked derisive comments from her political rivals. In February, 1992, during her first term as Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa celebrated her birthday along with Sasikala at the famous Kumbakonam temple on the occasion of Maasi Makam during a 'maha kumbhabishekam (consecration),' conducted once in 12 years.

But the occasion had turned tragic with 48 people drowning following a stampede caused by hundreds of jostling devotees who had gathered at the temple tank, also to watch Jayalalithaa and Sasikala pouring water on each other. Karunanidhi blamed Jayalalithaa and her friend for the stampede, using the Sanskrit word ‘jalakreedai’ (which has a royal connotation) to describe the two women ‘playing in water’ which, according to him, attracted the large crowds...