Former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s niece J. Deepa said she will appeal against the Tamil Nadu government taking over the late Chief Minister’s house Veda Nilayam in Poes Garden.

Pointing out that the issue of Jayalalithaa’s private property should only involve the family, she asked the AIADMK cadre to not remain silent on the grave injustice being meted out to her and her brother, Deepak.

“We [Deepa and Deepak] will never give up Veda Nilayam. This is the start of another legal battle. My aunt never wanted to give up the house. She wanted the house to be with her family,” Ms. Deepa said.

She said Veda Nilayam was a private property and not the AIADMK’s party headquarters to be taken over by the government. “Who are all these people [AIADMK]? The AIADMK is a political organisation and my aunt ran the party. It is one big organisation among many in the country. Just because someone has worked for an organisation doesn’t mean that their private property can be taken over,” she said.

Ms. Deepa insisted that property ownership is a private issue and asked if the siblings had laid claim to the party headquarters.

Questioning the rationale behind the government’s action, she asked what was the guarantee that the AIADMK would not break again and what would happen to the property then.

“You want to build a memorial for her, you can build it anywhere, but not on what is legally ours,” Ms. Deepa said.