Two days after the death of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, people want all her assets to be nationalized and brought under a government promoted trust, as she did not have any heirs for the wealth.
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president S Thirunavukkarasar told The Times of India that her house should be converted into a memorial, and even more so, as there is no information about her will.
He added that Jayalalithaa had a good collection of books in her library and had received many awards which could be put on display. He also wanted the government to provide detailed information about her assets, as people want to know. He feels that a part of her assets should be given to her niece and nephew also.
Reiterating that the house must be made into a memorial, actor and director R Parthiban said that what is earned in public life must be given back to the society and he feels MGR’s generous acts were an example of this. He said that what we give back serves as a mark of our existence.
However, Tamil writer Ashokamitran does not want Jayalalithaa’s house to be converted into a memorial. He said that the state had many memorials for politicians and making one more does not make sense.
He added that it was unfair to decide about the house without consulting her niece and nephew. Since it is an ancestral property, both nephew and niece have rights over it, he added. If Jayalalithaa had written a will, there would not have been any issues.
According to the affidavit filed by J Jayalalithaa before the Tamil Nadu Assembly election in May, her assets are valued at Rs 113.7 crore. With movable assets worth Rs 41.63 crore and immovable assets worth Rs 72 crore (market value at the time), her declaration amounted to about Rs 3.40 crore lesser than what she had declared in the 2015 bypolls.
Considering bank deposits and deposits with financial, non-financial institutions, companies and co-operative societies, about Rs 2.47 crore was frozen out of Rs 10.6 crore and her total income was Rs 95,23,630.
Jayalithaa also owned agricultural land in Ranga Reddy district of Telangana as well as in Cheyyur village in Tamil Nadu worth Rs 14.4 crore and Rs 34 lakh respectively. Excluding her own sprawling 24,000 square feet residence at Poes garden, valued at Rs 43.9 crore at the time, there were four other commercial plots (including apartments) in her name.
The former Tamil Nadu CM also invested funds worth Rs 27.4 crore in various companies including Shri Jaya publications and Sasi Enterprises. She owned nine motor vehicles worth Rs 42.25 lakh, the highest valued ones being two Toyota Prado cars worth Rs 20 lakh each purchased in 2010.