Tamil Nadu CM to unveil Jayalalithaa memorial at Marina Beach on Jan 27

The grand memorial built for former Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa will be unveiled on January 27 by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.

Spread over 50,000 square feet, the structure is built at a cost of Rs 79.75 crore alongside the Marina Beach in Chennai.

The giant structure is right behind the memorial of former chief minister MG Ramachandran (MGR). As per the release, alongside the Deputy chief minister O Pannerselvam, Tamil Nadu cabinet minister, Parliament members, senior party functionaries will take part in the event which is scheduled to start around 11 am.

The memorial will be surrounded by manicured lush gardens and water cascades. A state of the art museum and a knowledge park will also be present on the northern and southern end of the structure. Bust-size statues of MGR and Jayalalithaa are set up to welcome the visitors at the entrance.

CM Edappadi to inaugurate the grand memorial built for AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa on Jan 27. Ministers and other senior functionaries are set to take part in this event. Incidentally, ousted AIADMK leader #Sasikala is expected to be released from Bengaluru on the same day. pic.twitter.com/wxzwD5gd38

— Janardhan Koushik (@koushiktweets) January 19, 2021

Political experts believe CM Edappadi’s decision to inaugurate the memorial on January 27 is another attempt to claim the legacy of late Jayalalithaa as the ousted AIADMK leader VK Sasikala is expected to walk out of the Parappana Agrahara prison in Bengaluru on the same day. Sasikala, who is serving a four-year prison term in a disproportionate assets case, last visited the Jayalalithaa memorial and took three vows before heading to the prison.

Edappadi laid the foundation of the giant structure in 2018. It was expected to be unveiled by February 24, 2021, coinciding with Jayalalithaa’s birth anniversary.