Sources said the MGR statue was seen covered for the last few weeks reportedly for maintenance work. However, the Jayalalithaa statue was stealthily erected there overnight on Monday.

When contacted, corporation officials expressed their ignorance and said the land where the statues stood did not belong to the civic body.

Meanwhile, opposing the statue on the grounds that Jayalalithaa was convicted in a case, a few activists contacted DRO N Sakthivel over the issue as the district collector was away for a meeting. The DRO is said to have told them that he would ascertain whether permission was granted for the statue.

Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!