Poes Garden residence is now Jayalalithaa memorial

Former CM late J.Jayalalithaa's palatial home in Chennai's Poes Garden was converted into a memorial by the Tamil Nadu government.  Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami inaugurated the memorial on Thursday after the Madras High Court ordered that the house be closed to the public and only the main gates be opened as inventory work was pending. Though the Tamil Nadu government had acquired Jayalalithaa's house using a special executive order last year, two legal heirs, her niece Deepa and nephew Deepak, had approached the High Court challenging the acquisition.

The memorial will not be thrown open for the public, as per the order of the court.The keys to the memorial will be handed over to the court after the ceremony, The memorial was inaugurated a day after Jayalalithaa's close confidante VK Sasikala was freed from a Bengaluru jail after four years of imprisonment in Rs 66-crore disproportionate assets case. Jayalalithaa was the prime accused in the case. “The main gate to the premises of Veda Nilayam alone can be opened during the function. The building shall not be opened at any time, even during the function, since taking the inventory of the movables and their valuation is not yet complete,” the court had ordered, adding that the right, title and the interest of the heirs of the late chief minister “cannot be marginalized”.