Tamil Nadu govt promulgates ordinance to take over Jayalalithaa’s residence

Veda Nilayam, the magnificent bungalow of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in upscale Poes Garden in Chennai and a powerful address in the state for nearly three decades, will finally be converted into a memorial for her.

The Tamil Nadu government on Friday morning announced that Governor Banwarilal Purohit has promulgated an ordinance to temporarily take possession of the iconic residence 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 for Information and Publicity ‘Kadambur’ Raju as members. Director of Information and Public Relations will serve as the Member Secretary of the foundation.

A permanent place in TN history

Veda Nilayam has a permanent place in Tamil Nadu’s political history for it served as a power center from 1987 to 2016 – entering the lane where the bungalow is located was nothing short of a pilgrimage for lakhs of AIADMK cadres who adulated Jayalalithaa as Amma (mother).

With the bungalow now being converted into a memorial, the sprawling mansion will welcome lakhs of people to give a glimpse of the late chief minister’s opulent lifestyle.

The Poes Garden residence of Jayalalithaa was at the center of a political controversy after the AIADMK split in 2017 with O Panneerselvam’s rebellion against interim general secretary V K Sasikala. Panneerselvam was the first to demand that the bungalow be converted into a memorial for his late leader in February 2017 immediately after his rebellion.

And, the announcement that the bungalow will be converted into a memorial for Jayalalithaa by Palaniswami on August 17, 2017, was an integral part of the compromise arrived between him and Panneerselvam for the merger of his faction with the AIADMK. The government is constructing another memorial for Jayalalithaa on the Marina beach where she was buried.

The bungalow, whose value is over Rs 100 crore as on date, was purchased by Jayalalithaa’s mother Sandhya in the late 1960s and the former chief minister lived there till September 22, 2016, before she was wheeled into the Apollo Hospitals, where she breathed her last 75 days later on December 5.

Acquiring the bungalow

In an official release, the government said it decided to transfer all the immovable and movable properties of Veda Nilayam, which are in “a state of disuse” for more than three years, to the Government for its upkeep until the acquisition process is complete.

“Hence, the Governor of Tamil Nadu Thiru Banwarilal Purohit has promulgated an Ordinance to temporarily take possession of 'Veda Nilayam' and movable items therein to the State Government and to establish “Puratchi Thalaivi Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Memorial Foundation” for making long term arrangements to convert “Veda Nilayam‟ as a Memorial,” the statement said.

It added that an administrative sanction was given by the Tamil Development and Information Department on 5.10.2017 for the acquisition of 'Veda Nilayam' while the action was initiated to acquire the land and building, and preliminary notification was published on 28.6.2019 and thereafter a declaration on 6.5.2020.

‘Veda Nilayam was another mother to Jayalalithaa’

Jayalalithaa was meticulous in maintaining the bungalow like it was the dwelling of royalty and Veda Nilayam was “another mother” to her, senior journalist R Bhagwan Singh, who had met the late chief minister for several interviews at the residence, told DH.

“Jayalalithaa was very emotionally attached to the Poes Garden residence. She felt protected inside the four walls of the house and the bungalow was another mother to her. Jayalalithaa had herself mentioned more than once that she had very sad memories of waiting for her mother who used to come late after her shooting,” Singh said.

For Jayalalithaa, Veda Nilayam was everything, he added. “She had a bungalow in Siruthavur near Chennai and another in the Nilgiris. But Jayalalithaa’s heart was always in Poes Garden,” Singh said.