DMK moves HC seeking removal of Jaya’s portrait
Amid boycott by Opposition parties, a portrait of the late chief minister J. Jayalalithaa was unveiled on Monday in the Tamil Nadu Assembly by Speaker P. Dhanapal. In their speeches, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and his deputy O. Panneerselvam lavished praise on their late leader and asserted that Jayalalithaa’s fame would remain intact as long as the earth exists.
The seven-foot high and fivefoot wide portrait faced the ire of Opposition benches, which on Monday, boycotted the event. DMK, Congress and IUML, which have a combined strength of 98 MLAs in the House stayed away from the event even as Congress MLA Vijayadharani met Dhanapal after the function and thanked him for the gesture “unveiled the picture of a woman chief minister”.
Meanwhile, the DMK party has approached the Madras HC to direct the Speaker and secretary of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly to remove the portrait, as she has been ‘found guilty of corruption charges by the Supreme Court’. The bench said the petition would be taken up for hearing on Tuesday.