Probe into Jayalalithaa's death announced: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister

Palaniswami at the memorial for former state chief minister Jayalalithaa after being sworn in. File pic

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami yesterday announced a Commission of Inquiry to go into the death of J Jayalalithaa, eight months after her demise. Palaniswami also announced that Jayalalithaa's Poes Garden residence here would be turned into a memorial to be run by the government.

The announcements have virtually sealed the deal for merger with rebel leader and former chief minister O Panneerselvam's AIADMK faction, considering these are his two key demands. The 68-year-old former chief minister and AIADMK supreme died following a cardiac arrest on December 5 after being in hospital for 75 days. Panneerselvam has also sought the formal expulsion of AIADMK interim chief V K Sasikala and her nephew deputy general secretary T T V Dhinakaran.

Flanked by senior cabinet colleagues, Finance Minister D Jayakumar, Forest Minister Dindigul C Srinivasan and Power Minister P Thangamani, Palaniswami told reporters that the Commission of Inquiry would be set up and headed by a retired judge of the Madras High Court. He said the name of the judge would be announced later.

Hailing Jayalalithaa's contribution to Tamil Nadu, he added that following representations from a cross-section of people, her residence at Poes Garden would be turned into a government memorial and opened for public viewing. Jayalalithaa was admitted to hospital on September 22.

75
Number of days Jayalalithaa was in the hospital before passing away