Much criticised Jayalalithaa statue replaced in party HQ

AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam and joint coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami paid floral tributes to the statue, after it was unveiled by them in the presence of other senior party leaders. 

It may be noted that the previous statue installed on February 24, coinciding with Jayalalithaa’s 70th birth anniversary, invited widespread criticism over its remote likeness to the former AIADMK supremo. This forced the party leadership to commission a new one to replace it.

The two leaders also felicitated sculptor Rajkumar Udayar, who said: “I am glad and thankful to Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai and the Chief Minister for giving me the opportunity to sculpt ‘Amma’. The AIADMK has also ordered for a similar statue to be installed at Salem.” 

However, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) leader T T V Dhinakaran claimed that the arrangements made for the function was poor.  He slammed the AIADMK leaders, stating that they have insulted Jayalalithaa by covering the statue with an old cloth. The tweets by the RK Nagar MLA and a few other AMMK functionaries went viral on social media. Several others highlighted the issue on Twitter, pointing out that the statue was covered by a party dhoti.

Later in the day, both Palaniswami and Panneerselvam launched the New J channel. “Media is more focused on sensational news and gives less significance on government schemes and awareness programs that will uplift the common man. New J will address these issues and will follow the ethics of journalism,” the CM said. State ministers and MPs attended the TV launch. Since party workers from different parts of the State thronged the venue, peak hour traffic in Central Chennai was affected.