Crowds Throng Marina as AIADMK Unveils Jayalalithaa Memorial

Thousands rushed to Marina beach in Chennai as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami inaugurated the memorial of All Indian Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo Jayalalithaa, on Wednesday, 27 January.

Party cadre and senior leaders were present at the spot along with Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam. The memorial worth around Rs 80 crore is phoenix-themed for the leader who died in 2016.

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The nine acre land also has the memorial of former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran and former Chief Minister C N Annadurai.

Jayalalithaa's memorial has been built at a cost of Rs79.75 crore. It is shaped like a phoenix, with lions flanking either side of the structure and statues of Jayalalithaa and MGR.

Inauguration on Sasikala’s Release Day

The inaugural came on a day when Jayalalithaa’s close aide Sasikala was released from Bengaluru Parappana Agrahara Central Jail after serving her four-year prison sentence in the disproportionate assets case.

She remains hospitalised for COVID-19 at the Victoria hospital in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

Sasikala was expelled by the AIADMK in September 2017 after the merger of the two factions — one led by Edappadi Palaniswami and the other by O Paneerselvam.

When the leader was laid to rest in 2018, the project was planned but work was delayed due to opposition that the late CM had been convicted in a corruption case.

The Supreme Court however declined to consider the plea in 2019 against the construction of the memorial and it was rejected in the Madras High Court as well.

Jayalalithaa’s residence at Poes Garden, called ‘Veda Nilayam’ is also planned to be converted into a memorial. Veda Nilayam will be opened to the public on Thursday, 28 January.

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