Opening ceremony of Jaya's 'Veda Nilayam' memorial held

Opening ceremony of 'Veda Nilayam'memorial, the residence of late Chief Minister and AIADMKsupremo, J Jayalalithaa was held here on Thursday.

In a simple function, Tamil Nadu Chief MinisterK Palaniswami unveiled a plaque that declared the Veda Nilayamresidence where the late leader lived -in posh Poes Gardenarea- a memorial in her honour and following takeover of theresidential property by the government.

Palaniswami, flanked by his cabinet colleagues, includingDeputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and Assembly Speaker PDhanapal paid floral tributes to a portrait of Jayalalithaaand they lit a traditional lamp symbolising the opening of thememorial.

The Madras High Court on Wednesday allowed the governmentto go ahead with the opening ceremony but ordered that thebuilding shall not be thrown open to the public.

Passing interim order on petitions by Deepak and Deepa,nephew and niece of the late AIADMK supremo seeking a stay onthe inauguration, the court ordered that the opening ceremonyalone can take place as scheduled.

The duo filed separate petitions challenging thegovernment notification for acquisition of Veda Nilayam toconvert it into a memorial and the award passed by the LandAcquisition Officer.

Also, Palaniswami opened a life size statue (about ninefeet high) of Jayalalithaa in the premises of a state-runcollege on Kamarajar Salai here in front of Marina beach andpaid floral tributes to her.

On August 17, 2017 Chief Minister K Palaniswami hadannounced that Veda Nilayam would be converted into a memorialand opened to public in remembrance of her achievements andservice to the people.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly had in September 2020 adopted aBill to replace an ordinance issued for possession of the lateChief Minister's residence here and to facilitate vesting ofmovable properties therein with the government.