Tamil Nadu chief minister E Palaniswami and Deputy CM O Panneerselvam unveiled the statue of former TN CM Jayalalithaa at the AIADMK office. (Source: ANI)

Tamil Nadu chief minister E Palaniswami and Deputy CM O Panneerselvam unveiled the statue of former TN CM Jayalalithaa at the AIADMK office on her 70th birth anniversary. The statue was placed near that of party founder, late Chief Minister M G Ramachandran, known as MGR. Jayalalithaa who was a popular star in Tamil cinema during the 1960s and 1970s had turned politician. She had passed away on December 5, 2016, after suffering from prolonged illness. Her death shattered the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) into factions, and after much unrest, Palaniswami assumed the office of the Chief Minister on February 16, 2017.

Jayalalithaa was born in Mysore at a place called Melukote on February 24, 1948. She started her career as an actor was a famous South Indian film star before joining AIADMK in 1982. Two years later she was elected to the Rajya Sabha where she retained her seat till 1989.

Later in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the AIADMK government’s ambitious scheme of providing 50 per cent subsidy to working women to buy two-wheelers. This was a pet project of Jayalalithaa was fondly known as Amma.

According to an official statement, besides Tamil Nadu, the prime minister will also visit Daman, Puducherry and Gujarat in the next two days. The prime minister will arrive in Daman tomorrow to launch various development projects and hand over certificates to beneficiaries of various official schemes. He will also address a public meeting.

On Sunday, the prime minister will visit Puducherry. At Aurobindo Ashram, he will offer floral tributes to Shri Aurobindo, and interact with students of Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education. He will also visit Auroville. He will release a commemorative a postage stamp on the golden jubilee celebrations of Auroville.