V. N. Janaki
| Janaki Ramachandran | |
|---|---|
| ஜானகி இராமச்சந்திரன் | |
Janaki (right) with M. G. Ramachandran, in 1948 film Mohini
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| Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu | |
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In office 7 January 1988 - 30 January 1988 |
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| Preceded by | V.R. Nedunchezhiyan |
| Succeeded by | President's rule |
| Constituency | Andipatti |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 November 1923 Vaikom in Kottayam, Travancore, British Raj |
| Died | 19 May 1996 (aged 72) Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Political party | AIADMK |
| Spouse(s) | Ganapati Bhatt (1939-1961) (divorced) M. G. Ramachandran (1963-1987) (till his death) |
| Children | Surendran |
| Occupation | Actress, Politician |
Janaki Ramachandran (30 November 1923 – 19 May 1996), commonly known as V. N. Janaki, was an Tamil actress and politician. She was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for 23 days from 7th january 1988 to 30th of same month, when her cabinet and state assembly were collectivly dissolved by central government for law and order failure.
She was born to Narayani Amma in Tamil family in the town of Vaikom, Kottayam in Travancore. She had a brother P. Narayanan who was an educationalist. Her father's younger brother was Papanasam Sivan. Janaki was a successful actress in late 1940s and starred in more than 25 movies including Mohini, Raja Mukthi, Velaikaari, Aiyiram Thalaivangiya Aboorva Chintamani, Devaki and Marudhanaattu Ilavarasi. M. G. Ramachandran had written in his autobiography that in late 1940s and in 1950, Janaki was earning double the income he received as an actor.
Janaki married twice. Her first husband was Ganapathy Bhatt whom she married in 1939. The couple had one son called Surendran, who currently has the rights to M.G.Ramachandran's autobiography. More than two decades later, in 1963, she married for the second time, to the Tamil cinema actor M. G. Ramachandran. M.G.R and Janaki did not have any children.
In 1987, when her husband M. G. Ramachandran died, Janaki was asked by party members to take his place. She took his place as the Leader of the AIADMK party, which subsequently split into two factions. Janaki Ramachandran became Chief minister in January 1988 soon after her husband's death, but her government lasted only 24 days, the shortest in the history of Tamil Nadu.
Her ministry went for a sensitive vote of confidence of the Eighth Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in January 1988. This was because AIADMK coalition with 194 MLAs had split into 3 factions, with one faction supporting jayalalitha (30 MLA) and other supporting the new CM janaki (101). The congress party , under the directive of its national chief and then PM Rajiv gandhi, had decided to completely vote neutral. The opposition severely demanded secret singular voting in the assembly, on the day of vote. But the speaker, rejected this. The speaker was a janaki supporter, and had already disqualified 30 MLA of jayalalltha faction, and also 15 MLA of DMK from MLA office, the previous day. He had also decreed that the cabinet must garner support of MLAs, who were physically present in the assembly at the time of vote. So instead of proving majority in 234 with just 101, janaki had to prove majority in 198, which was easily possible. So, the speaker silenced the assembly, and called for vote. The DMK and AIADMK MLAs clashed within assembly, and many were injured bloodily, including the speaker. Without alternative, the speaker requested the CM to protect the house, and as a last measure, the CM called police into the house to quell the riot. Police and goons (disguised as police) clased with each other. In midst of all these problems, the speaker announced unilaterally that the cabinet had won motion of confidence, and then ordered everyone to leave the hall, and he himself left the hall.
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