MADURAI
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has objected to the ruling party installing a statue of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in a roundabout at K.K. Nagar here.
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has installed a bronze statue of Jayalalithaa in the roundabout alongside the statue of former Chief Minister and AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran, which was installed years back. The final touches are being given to the Jayalalithaa statue in the traffic island that has been covered with huge tin sheets on all sides.
In identical petitions, DMK functionaries, led by MLA (Madurai East) P. Moorthi, have asked Madurai Collector T.G. Vinay and Commissioner of Police S. Davidson Devasirvatham not to allow installation of the statue of Jayalalithaa without proper permission.
The opposition party pointed out that the Supreme Court had banned installation of statues in public places in January 2013.
In the petition, the DMK functionaries said the roundabout was close to the District Court complex. It was located on the arterial bus route to Tiruchi, on which MGR Integrated Bus Stand at Mattuthavani, SIDCO Industrial Estate, central vegetable market, flower market and Foodgrains Complex were located.
Stating that the MGR statue was on one of the busiest roads in the city, the petition said that during the birth and death anniversaries of the former Chief Minister, the ruling party conducted functions that attracted huge crowds and caused traffic congestion at KK Nagar junction.
“If Jayalalithaa’s statue is also installed in the same place, similar congestion would be witnessed on her birth and death anniversaries. It would also cause road accidents,” the petition said.
