Scuffles broke out on Monday outside the hospital where one of India's most popular political leaders Jayalalithaa Jayaram is on life support after suffering a cardiac arrest. Hundreds of police had to hold back supporters of the chief minister of the southern state of Tamil Nadu when they tried to break through the barricades outside the hospital after media reports — later denied — that she had died. Doctors treating the 68-year-old former film star, who enjoys popular support in Tamil Nadu, say she is in critical condition and on life support. Hundreds of supporters have kept a round-the-clock vigil outside the private Apollo hospital in the state capital Chennai since she was first admitted in September suffering from a fever. Their numbers have swelled since her condition worsened on Sunday. "Our team of expert doctors continue to closely monitor and treat the honorable chief minister. However her condition remains critical," the hospital tweeted on Monday. "The treating doctors are continuing all life saving measures. #GodblessAmma," it added. Television footage showed crowds praying for the chief minister, who is known simply as "Amma" (mother), many of them in tears. "Amma should survive. I won't mind if my life is taken away, but Amma should live," one supporter cried. Jayalalithaa has not been seen in public since September. But the hospital had said her health was improving until she suffered a cardiac arrest on Sunday evening. The Press Trust of India said police across the state had been put on high alert to maintain law and order, with 1,000 officers stationed at the hospital alone. Media reports said some Chennai schools would remain closed, while the US consulate in the city said it had suspended services and warned Americans to exercise caution. Several of her supporters resorted to self-harm when she was briefly jailed in 2014 on charges of corruption. Jayalalithaa earned the loyalty of many voters in Tamil Nadu with a series of highly populist schemes, including an "Amma canteen" that provides lunch for just three rupees (five cents). In 2014 she was briefly forced to step down as chief minister after she was jailed on corruption charges. Her conviction, later overturned on appeal, sparked mass protests and even some reported suicides. Thousands of directors, actors and producers in the successful Tamil language film industry went on hunger strike to demand her release. The AIADMK and its bitter rival, the DMK, are the main parties in Tamil Nadu, and both are built around a personality cult of their leaders who are drawn from the Tamil film industry. India's two national parties, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Congress have little political presence in the state, despite decades of efforts. The death of Ramachandran, or MGR as Jayalalithaa's mentor was known, sparked looting and rioting across Tamil Nadu by his grief-stricken supporters in 1987. The US consulate in Chennai asked US citizens to avoid areas of demonstrations and be vigilant because of the chance of violence. "US citizens are reminded that even gatherings intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence," the consulate said in a notice posted on its website. — Agencies
