The inauguration of the phoenix shaped memorial where Jayalalithaa was buried, coincided with the release of V.K. Sasikala who was Jayalalithaa's close aide, from the jail in Bangalore on Wednesday.
The Poes Garden residence of late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaa was converted into a memorial by the Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday. Palaniswami inaugurated the memorial a day after the Madras High Court gave directions of not letting people inside the house. The keys would be given to the court after the function ends. Although the state government had acquired the house by passing an ordinance last year, a petition was filed against the proceedings by the two legal heirs of the property- Jayalalithaa's niece Deepa and her nephew Deepak.
Palaniswami also inaugurated the phoenix shaped memorial at the spot where Jayalalithaa was buried at the Marina beach in Chennai on Wednesday. The inauguration coincided with the release of V.K. Sasikala who was Jayalalithaa's close aide, from the jail in Bengaluru. Sasikala had been serving a four-year sentence in a disproportionate assets case of Rs 66 crore.
After the demise of CM Jayalalithaa in December 2016, Sasikala who had been by her side for around thirty years, took over the reins of the party AIADMK but was soon removed from the position as she was jailed in February 2017. Sasikala, still has a stronghold in the party and it seems the CM opened the memorial to prevent party members from going to the jail. Palaniswami had mentioned earlier that Sasikala was not a member of the party and would have no role in it. The assembly elections are likely to be held in April-May.
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