Venkaiah Naidu welcomes Panneerselvam's proposal to convert Poes Garden property into Jaya memorial

Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday welcomed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam's proposal to convert the landmark 'Veda Nilayam' Poes Garden residence of late J Jayalaithaa into a public memorial.

"I welcome Panneerselvam's suggestion to convert the Poes Garden property into a national memorial for madam Jayalalithaa.

"Personally, I feel that is a very good thing because madam Jayalaithaa was an extraordinary leader," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Bengaluru.

He, however, clarified that there is no role for the Central government in this endeavour, but is left to the AIADMK leaders to decide on the issue, as nobody is claiming the property.

"If some arrangement has been made, we will be more than happy, but at the same time, the Government of India, has no role in this. It is for AIADMK and its leaders and cadres to take a final decision, and nobody else is claiming the property," he said.

The 24,000 sq feet residence in Chennai is named "Veda Nilayam" after Jayalalithaa's mother, who was known as Sandhya in the Tamil film industry.

Hundreds of people had converged on the Poes Garden residence soon after Jayalalithaa's death in December last year, wanting to take a glimpse of the house.

Though Jayalalithaa's mother had lived there briefly, it was largely occupied by Jayalalithaa along with Sasikala, who now continues to stay there post Jayalalithaa's death.