Three years after former Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK czarina Jayalalithaa’s death, the AIADMK government on Friday promulgated an ordinance to “temporarily” take over her Poes Garden residence. Governor Banwarilal Purohit gave his consent for the ordinance on May 21.
The ordinance has been promulgated to temporarily take possession of Veda Nilayam- Poes Garden residence of Jayalalithaa and to establish ‘Puratchi Thalaivi’ Dr J Jayalalithaa Memorial Foundation to enable converting the bungalow into a memorial for the AIADMK leader. The foundation will be headed by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and his deputy O. Panneerselvam and minister of Information and Publicity Kadambur Raju as members. Director of Information and Public Relations will serve as the Member Secretary of the foundation.
An official release on Friday further stated that the building of ‘Veda Nilayam’ including the movable items like furniture, books, jewels, etc are in a state of disuse for more than three years and so the government has “decided” to transfer all the “movable and immovable properties to the government for its upkeep until the acquisition process is complete.”
The ordinance was issued following the announcement made by Palaniswami on August 17, 2017, when Panneerselvam merged his faction with the ruling faction headed by EPS. Converting Jayalalalithaa’s Veda Nilayam into a memorial was one of the two demands by Panneerselvam to merge his faction with the ruling faction. The other demand, apparently, was inquiring into the mystery behind Jayalalithaa’s death in December 2016. Incidentally a one-man commission headed by retired justice A. Arumughaswamy was set up, which is yet to complete its inquiry and submit the findings to the government. The commission’s activities have been stayed by the Supreme Court. Incidentally, Panneerselvam, who was the reason behind setting up of the commission, is yet to depose before it and submit his statements on the medical treatment administered to Jayalalithaa.
The second demand was converting Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden residence into a memorial, which is being taken up on a fast pace, at a time when the state is fighting a pandemic. The memorial though was a demand by Panneerselvam and the AIADMK party cadres, Veda Nilayam is still caught in a litany of woes. During the public hearing, the residents of Poes Garden opposed it, saying it might cause hindrance to the residents, as it is a swanky area. However, the 30-page final report submitted by the Social Impact Assessment (SIA) team, a copy of which is available with THE WEEK, recommended that the government go ahead with the project of converting Veda Nilayam into a memorial, as Jayalalithaa was an icon. The final report submitted by SIA’s project director Dr A. Enoch said that the team was fully convinced that the conversion of Veda Nilayam into a memorial “by the government of Tamil Nadu serves public purpose”.
But the issue of conversion did not stop here, as Jayalalithaa’s nephew Deepak Jayakumar and niece Deepa Jayakumar went to the Madras High Court claiming to be Jayalalithaa’s only legal heirs. The siblings said in the court that they are entitled to inherit the bungalow and other properties in Jayalalithaa’s name. Their petition came up in the court when Palaniswami’s government took measures to convert Veda Nilayam into Poes Garden in 2018-19. The petition said the bungalow be handed over to them.
ALSO READ
In the meantime, the white mansion which stood as a silent sentinel to much of the state politics that unraveled for over three decades, came under yet another storm. The residence was raided by the Income Tax department. The relatives of Jayalalithaa’s close aide Sasikala were summoned for enquiry. But no minster or MLA from the ruling AIADMK condemned the raids or demanded an explanation saying it would damage the image of their ‘Amma’ who always preferred a reclusive life. Yet again, in 2019, the Income Tax department informed the court that the Poes Garden residence and several other properties of Jayalalithaa were “under attachment”, as she failed to pay her tax dues.
According to highly placed sources in the AIADMK, the party had paid close to Rs 30 crores to the Income Tax department to ensure that there are no legal difficulties in acquiring Veda Nilayam. The government is yet to ascertain Jayalalithaa’s legal heirs. The petition filed by Deepa and Deepak is still pending in the Madras High Court. In fact, one of the notifications issued by the Chennai district collector R. Seethalakshmi on May 6 for land acquisition mentions about “right to fair compensation.”
Politically, the move is looked at as a step to ensure that Sasikala doesn’t get back into the Poes garden residence of Jayalalithaa, once she is back from the prison in Bengaluru. She is now serving her four-year jail term in the disproportionate assets case and her jail term ends in February 2021. However, sources close to Sasikala say that she would not stake claim for Jayalalithaa’s residence. Incidentally, a bungalow opposite to Veda Nilayam is being spruced up for Sasikala to reside once she is back from prison. “There is nothing against Sasikala in this. It is a political move, as this would help the AIADMK win Jayalalithaa vote bank,” said senior journalist Tharasu Shyam.
However, unlike MGR, Jayalalithaa does not command a legacy or a vote bank which could help her party win the upcoming elections in 2021.
