Jaya’s 3rd death anniv: Parties take out silent rally

Clad in black shirts thousands of cadre joined the AIADMK leaders from Triplicane to the Marina beach, where the mortal remains of the leader is buried.

The AIADMK men took a pledge administered by the party convenor Panneerselvam. They vowed to be united and win the upcoming polls for rural local bodies.

Earlier in the day, joint-convenor Palaniswami visited the Poes Garden bungalow of Jayalalithaa and paid floral tributes and then participated in the silent march from Anna Salai-Walajah Road junction to the memorial. Traffic was diverted on the beach road to facilitate the peace rally of 1.5 kilometre attended by party cadre and other leaders attached to minor political outfits.

The leaders paid homage by placing wreaths and showering flower petals at her samadhi and observed a two-minute silence. The pledge dedicated the Vikravandi and Nanguneri Assembly bypoll victory to AIADMK leaders. “Rather than asking what the party did for you, let us ask what we did for the party and let us work with unity for the people,” Panneerselvam said recalling the words of late AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa.

The AIADMK leaders also raised slogans in praise of the late leader who died in Apollo Hospital here on December 5, 2016 after 75 days of hospitalisation.

In his address, Palaniswami termed the demise of his mentor as a great loss for the party and said her memories and legacy will continue to prevail for the years to come. Meanwhile, the public works department which has awarded a Rs 50 crore contract to establish the memorial has intensified the construction work of the phoenix like structure coming near the shoreline of Marina beach.

The burial site was decked up for her anniversary and an assortment of flowers ranging from rose, marigold and lily were arranged. Two leaves symbol was also aesthetically designed with flowers. AIADMK presidium chairman E Madhusudanan, senior AIADMK leaders KA Sengottaiyan and R Vaithilingam also took part in the rally. Jayalalithaa’s niece J Deepa along with her family members also paid tributes at the memorial.