Jayalalithaa with some of MGR’s relatives at his house. Telegraph picture

Chennai, Jan. 17: Jayalalithaa today entered the house of her late mentor M.G. Ramachandran after 12 years, returning to the scene of her first battle for his political legacy to beat off a new challenge.

“I am the true political heir of MGR. We are running the ADMK founded by him,” she said at the Ramavaram Gardens house where, 20 years ago, a just-widowed Janaki Ramachandran had barred her from seeing MGR’s body.

“I am (the ADMK) general secretary now and nobody can claim any right to it,” the former chief minister said at the late leader’s 91st anniversary celebrations.

The provocation was the recent claim by actor Vijayakant, who floated the party DMDK in 2005, that he was the iconic MGR’s true heir.

“Those claiming to be his successors are blabbering because their bile levels have shot up. One day clarity will dawn when the excess bile has been removed,” Jayalalithaa said without naming Vijayakant, who styles himself a “Karuppu (black) MGR” and says the old ambassador he uses was gifted by Janaki.

“You can make instant coffee but not instant political leaders. Those who want to become like MGR are like the cat that burnt itself attempting to draw stripes on its body like a tiger.”

Jayalalithaa reminded reporters that her December 1987 visit, after MGR’s death, was not the last one and that once-rival Janaki had eventually opened the house’s doors to her.

“I came here in 1995 when I was chief minister to meet Mrs Janaki and again in May 1996, after she passed away, to pay homage to her,” Jayalalithaa said.

“This is our house,” she added. “We are free to come whenever we feel like it.”

For the past 12 years she had, however, kept away from the house where four of MGR’s five adopted daughters – he had no natural children – lived. The eldest, Latha, lived outside but ran the school for special children built in MGR’s name on the house’s premises.

The ADMK celebrated MGR’s anniversary every year at the party headquarters but this year, conveniently for her, Jayalalithaa received two invitations from the daughters. Latha asked her to give away prizes to the children at the school today, and Sudha invited her to the house.

It was the perfect opportunity to outflank Vijayakant who was said to be planning a march to the house to hoist his party’s flag.

Jayalalithaa headed to the house from the routine function at the party office and spent about 10 minutes with the family.

Thousands of supporters surged in, too. Two drum-beaters twirled round ribbon-like whips, a take on one of MGR’s films, Enga Veetu Pillai (the son of our household).

Outside, scores of garlanded MGR portraits lined the streets, along with hundreds of Jayalalithaa posters.

The 20-odd films they did together had drawn MGR close to Jayalalithaa. Their first Tamil film, Aayirathil Oruvan (one in a thousand) was a hit; so were Kaaval Kaaran, Oli Vilakku and Raman Thediya Seethai.

She joined the ADMK in 1981 and was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1984. After MGR’s death in harness as chief minister, she and Janaki fought fiercely over his body and his legacy.

The protégé was not allowed to enter the room where the body lay. So, when it was brought to Rajaji Hall for public viewing, Jayalalithaa, then 39, positioned herself right behind it till the next day when the funeral procession began.

She was accompanying the body in a gun carriage when she was pushed out on the streets by a male relative of Janaki.

The wife replaced MGR as chief minister and the party split. The Janaki faction was routed in the 1989 elections but the rival group did better. Jayalalithaa then won the 1991 polls to become chief minister.