Stalin raises Jayalalithaa's death mystery: EPS has no moral right to unveil her memorial

Speaking at Maduravoyal, DMK chief MK Stalin targeted the AIADMK government for its plan to unveil a memorial of former CM Jayalalithaa. Stalin said that Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi Palaniswami and Deputy CM and O Panneerselvam have no "moral right" to inaugurate her memorial before the truth about her death is out. Stalin also wished well to VK Sasikala who tested positive for COVID-19, days before her release from jail. 

"Mystery still shrouds Jayalalithaa’s death. It was Panneerselvam who demanded an inquiry commission. Without concluding the probe, what moral right do they (EPS and OPS) have to inaugurate her memorial?" Stalin asked.

Stalin had earlier said that the AIADMK government is constructing a temple for Jayalalitha but didn't investigate her death. He had pointed out that it was OPS, not DMK, who had claimed that there was a mystery behind Jayalalithaa's death and that the DMK was hell-bent on finding the culprit behind the death of the former CM and punish him. DMK and Stalin have on earlier occasions launched attacks on the AIADMK govt and the Arumughaswamy Commission for failing to ascertain the cause of Jayalalithaa's death four years after the unforeseen incident. 

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Late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s grand memorial on the Marina Beach front will be opened to the public on January 27. Meanwhile, her Poes Garden residence Veda Nilayam in Chennai will open to the public on January 28, a day after the Madras High Court is set to hear a plea regarding the acquisition of the property, as per reports. The Tamil Nadu government's move to convert the former CM's residence into a memorial was opposed by Jayalalithaa's niece J Deepa and nephew Deepak following which the MHC had asked the state government to refrain from doing so. However, with the hearing date nearing, an AIADMK state minister revealed details of the public being allowed into Jayalalithaa's residence later this month. 

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Earlier, life-size bronze statues of former Chief Ministers J Jayalalithaa and MG Ramachandran was inaugurated at the newly-constructed temple at Thirumangalam, Madurai. State Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management R B Udhayakumar had said that AIADMK members consider the late leaders as their 'Gods'. He said after consecration, people will be able to offer prayers to MGR and Jayalalithaa.

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Arumughaswamy Commission

The Tamil Nadu government in October extended the tenure of the Arumughaswamy Commission probing the death of former CM J Jayalalithaa by three months, making it the 9th such extension given. The Arumughaswamy Commission, led by retired judge Arumughaswamy, was formed on September 25, 2017, following the demand for a probe into the late AIADMK supremo's death by the party cadre and has examined 154 witnesses till date, including ex-CM Jayalalithaa's former aide V Sasikala.  The Commission, which was granted a three-month extension on June 24, is yet to table its findings in the death of J Jayalalithaa. Further, the Commission also faces a legal hurdle at the Supreme Court after Apollo Hospitals filed a plea to stop the proceedings of the Arumughaswamy Commission, citing that the latter was allegedly working in a biased manner. In response to this, the Commission asked the TN government to file a petition revoking the stay, however, the matter is still pending in the SC. 

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