AIADMK

Jayalalithaa or someone else? Late Tamil Nadu CM's statue sparks Twitter trolls

A life size statue of Jayalalithaa was unveiled at AIADMK headquarters in Chennai

Jayalalithaa statue | PTI Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam at the unveiling of a statue of late former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa at AIADMK headquarters in Chennai on the occasion of her 70th birth anniversary | PTI

The mood at the AIADMK headquarters at Lloyds Road in Chennai was upbeat. Huge flex boards, banners and hoardings were put up hailing Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam for “effectively steering the government” the way their “beloved Amma” had showed. 

A few hundred cadres with party flags and two-leaves symbols in their hands were seen hailing late chief minister Jayalalithaa. A life size statue wrapped in cloth was waiting to be unveiled. The chief minister and the deputy chief minister were seen holding a remote control device each in their hands. Minutes later, the curtain in front of the statue went up. 

The two leaders were all in smiles as the statue was unveiled. Once again slogans of “puratchi thalaivi Amma” (revolutionary leader Amma) began hitting the air. “Today we have unveiled the statue of Amma. When she was alive, she faced a lot of obstacles in her life. We have faced many obstacles as well. We have passed all those hurdles and come out successful,” said Palaniswami.

His deputy in the cabinet, Panneerselvam, said, “This is a very important day for the people of AIADMK. We have celebrated this day to do welfare for the people of Tamil Nadu. But today we are standing with heart-wrenching emotions and tear-filled eyes, covering all this with a plastered smile, while unveiling Amma's statue.” 

Panneerselvam’s was a touching speech that made the cadres around wrench in emotions and go nostalgic to remember their late leader. 

After the two leaders and the ministers left the space, some of the cadres were seen taking pictures of the statue and others posing for selfies in front of it. 

However, a few others were seen ridiculing the government and the present AIADMK dispensation for unveiling a statue that “doesn't even resemble” Jayalalithaa. Twitteratti had a field day scouting for a match for the statue. Some matched it with her friend Sasikala’s face, some found similarity with the face of the chief minister’s wife, while a few others mocked it to be looking like the face of an old lady.