Madras HC slams political personality cults

CHENNAI: Personality cults are not great for a republic or a country’s Constitution, the Madras high court observed on Thursday, while hearing a case on converting late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s residence in Chennai into a memorial.

From Mahatma Gandhi to William Shakespeare and Winston

Churchilll, famous personalities from history were drawn into the virtual courtroom of chief justice Sanjib Banerjee and justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy.

They were hearing a petition filed by Jayalalithaa’s legal heir and nephew J Deepak against an act promulgated by the state government to convert her residence, Veda Nilayam, in Chennai’s Poes Garden into a memorial for the leader who died in

December 2016.

“Personality cult is not something great for a republic... or Constitution,” Banerjee said when advocate general Vijay Narayan, appearing for the state government, spoke about the late leader’s personality, leadership and role in empowering women.

The court made an oral observation that there could be one memorial for Gandhi, one for Jawaharlal Nehru and one for

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. “But if you keep extending it you would have memorials for deputy chief ministers also!”the judges remarked.

The court agreed to the AG’S submission that Jayalalithaa had contributed greatly to Tamil Nadu, but said it can’t keep adding memorials. “There are several judges who make contributions. What will happen if court space is used to put up statues,” asked Banerjee.