The Tamil Nadu government is actively considering converting a major portion of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s residence, ‘Veda Nilyam’, into the official residence of CM instead of a memorial. Madras High Court has been notified about the same.
The information came when Madras court was hearing a plea filed by the Poes Garden Residents Association that challenged acquisition of Jayalalitha’s house by the Tamil Nadu government. The petition had sought the government to stop converting Poes Garden into a memorial as that would attract a lot of limelight, making the local residents of area refrain from a peaceful living.
Meanwhile, Advocate General Vijay Narayan in his plea to Justice Anand Venkatesh said: “It will become a tourist place for millions of Tamil. People visiting the state would visit the place more like people visiting the White House and the Lincoln Home when they visit the US or Shakespeare’s birthplace when they visit the UK.”
He also informed the Judge that along with the immovable property, all the other movable property will also be arranged in the similar fashion as it was during the time when Jayalalithaa lived.
The Judge then observed the plea made by advocate general Vijay Narayn and found out that houses of political leaders and influential people have been converted into memorials in the past.
However, the petitioners also accused the state government of acquiring the property illegally without consulting the residents.
After considering the submission made by both the sides, the judge culimintaed that rejecting the idea of a memorial for the peaceful living cannot be accepted. He dismissed the plea, calling the argument premature and apprehensive.
The resident of Jayalalithaa covers a wide are of 24,000 sq ft and was a place with high security. Not only localites, but even VVIPs couldn’t barge in until the permission from due authorities.