Amma’s maiden RS speech left a deep impression on fellow parliamentarians

NEW DELHI: In her first speech in the Rajya Sabha in 1984, J Jayalalithaa had left a deep impression on fellow parliamentarians.

Deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha PJ Kurien, who was then chief whip of Congress in the Lok Sabha, has vivid memories of Jayalalithaa’s maiden speech in the Upper House.

Kurien recollects that even the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi came to hear Jayalalithaa’s speech. “I heard the MPs praising her speech. Everyone was talking about her. It was like an event,” Kurien said.