CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday informed the Madras High Court that it is considering converting a major portion of former Chief Minister J Jayalalitha residence into the official residence of the CM instead of a memorial.
The court was hearing a plea filed by the Poes Garden Kasturi Estate House Owners Association challenging the government decision to convert the house into a memorial.
According to the petitioners, the residence of the former CM, if converted into a memorial will attract a large crowd affecting the peace of the area.
Advocate General Vijay Narayan in his submission to Justice Anand Venkatesh said, "It will become a tourist place for millions of Tamil. People visiting the state would visit the place more like people visiting the White House and the Lincoln Home when they visit the US or Shakespeare's birthplace when they visit the UK."
Along with the immovable property, all the other movable properties inside the house will also be acquired by the state to make it the same as she lived.
Concurring with the submissions made by the advocate general, the judge observed that the houses of several leaders have been converted to the memorial and this is not unusual.
However, the petitioners also said that the state government is trying to acquire the property illegally without conducting a proper survey with other residents besides a traffic assessment report. There is also no public interest in the property being converted as a memorial, added the petitioner.
Recording the submissions made by both the parties, Justice Anand Venkatesh dismissed the plea observing that the very argument of the an association that the crowd will gather affecting the peaceful living of the other residents in the locality cannot be accepted.
All these contentions submitted in the court are premature and filed on mere apprehensions, he emphasized.