Inauguration Of Temple Dedicated To Jayalalithaa In Madurai Today

MGR, Jayalalithaa Madurai temple inauguration today: A temple in Thirumangalam, Madurai district, dedicated to late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa will be inaugurated today. To honour her legacy, her life-size bronze statue along with that of her mentor MG Ramachandran will also be unveiled today in T Kallupatti area. The temple, which has been constructed on a one-and-a-half-acre plot at a cost of ₹ 50 lakh, will be inaugurated by Chief Minister E Palaniswami on Saturday.

After consecration, people can offer worships to the late CM. "We call our Amma (Jayalalithaa) with different names of Goddesses like 'Idhaya Theivam (Goddess of Hearts), Kaval Theivam (Guardian Goddess) and Kulasamy (Goddess of our Tribe), and this temple only formalises that. We have enough space around the temple for people to come and worship," state Revenue Minister RB Udhayakumar said.

Claiming that both MGR and Jayalalithaa have "sacrificed a lot and we regard them as God and Goddess," the minister added that Jayalalithaa still held a special place in the hearts of people. “She was a selfless person, who completely dedicated herself to the welfare of the people. AIADMK cadre worship her as their family deity. My family also worship her,” Amma Peravai, former Minister for revenue, had said while approving the plan last year.

Recently, the inauguration of Jayalalithaa’s memorial took place on January 27. The same day, Sasikala, a former aid of Jayalalithaa was released from Bengaluru prison after serving a four-year jail term. The very next day her Veda Nilayam residence in Poes Garden was inaugurated as a memorial house. Earlier this week, the TN Chief Minister inaugurated a ₹ 79-crore phoenix-shaped memorial dedicated to the late politician. 

This is not the first time a temple is being built in memory of the former chief minister. In 2019, a shrine dedicated to Jayalalithaa was installed in Coimbatore, located inside the Yoga Centre compound in Ganesapuram. Days after her death in 2016, in Thanjavur, a temple was built with numerous pictures from Jayalalithaa’s life.