Chennai: Late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s body, draped in the national flag, was brought to the Rajaji Hall in Anna Salai early on Tuesday morning for the people to pay last respects to her.
The Hall was thronged with AIADMK workers and supporters yearning for a last glimpse of their beloved leader. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also arrived in Chennai on Tuesday afternoon to pay his last respect to Jayalalithaa.
Newly sworn-in CM O Panneerselvam was also present at the Hall, along with some other leaders.
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Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has reached Chennai to pay his last respects to Jayalalithaa.
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Helicopters have been deployed over Marina beach for aerial surveillance during the last rites ceremony. Burial of Jayalalithaa’s mortal remains will take place at MGR Memorial there.
- Opposition DMK leader MK Stalin pays tribute to Jayalalithaa.
- Former PM Manmohan Singh reaches Rajaji Hall in Chennai to pay his last respects to Jayalalithaa.
- Clad in white, an emotional Modi, who enjoyed a good personal equation with the late AIADMK leader, consoled Chief Minister O Panneerselvam who broke down. Modi also spoke to Jayalalithaa's close confidante Sasikala.
- Modi's convoy left Rajaji Hall after he paid homage to the leader.
- PM Narendra Modi has reached Rajaji Hall in Chennai's Anna Salai where Jayalalithaa's body has been kept. The PM was received at the airport by Governor CH Vidyasagar Rao.
- Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis will be attending the
last rites of Jayalalithaa,with BJP MLA Tamil Selvam. -
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that Trinamool Congress MPs Derek O'Brien and Kalyan Banerjee would attend the funeral on her behalf as she could not make it.
- Both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha have been adjourned for the day after paying respects to the late CM.
- Jayalalithaa will be accorded a state funeral. Flags will be flown at half mast, and no ceremonial functions will be organised, said ANI.
- Union Ministers Venkaiah Naidu and Pon Radhakrishnan will represent the Central government at Jayalalithaa's funeral.
- Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah will attend Jayalalithaa's last rites too.
- Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is also headed to the Tamil Nadu capital to pay homage to the departed CM.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Chennai at 9:30 am to pay homage to Jayalalithaa, after paying respects to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar at Parliament House. He will place a wreath on the mortal remains of Jayalalithaa at Rajaji Hall, said PTI. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will also leave for Chennai, said ANI reports.
- The Central government has declared 1-day mourning in the wake of Jayalalithaa's passing, said ANI.
- Jayalalithaa's cremation will take place at Marina Beach from 4:30 pm on Tuesday, said ANI.
- Kerala government has also declared a holiday for all government offices and educational institutions in the state.
- Emotional AIADMK workers and supporters broke barricades outside Jayalalithaa’s residence, forcing police to engage in lathi charge.
- Earlier, the late CM's mortal remains were taken from Apollo Hospitals in Greams Road to her residence at Poes Garden.
- The Tamil Nadu government has declared 6th December 2016 as a public holiday under Negotiable Instrument Act as a mark of respect to the departed leader.
- Schools and colleges in the state will remain closed for 3 days, and an official mourning period will be observed for a week following Jayalalithaa's death.
Read: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa dead, says Apollo Hospitals
J Jayalalithaa, the charismatic 6-time Chief Minister who ruled the political arena and Tamil cinema world alike for decades on end, died at the Apollo Hospitals in Chennai on late Monday night at the age of 68.
Following her death, Cabinet Minister O Panneerselvam was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
Read: Panneerselvam breaks down as PM pays floral tributes to Jayalalithaa
The late Tamil Nadu CM breathed her last at the ICU of the hospital at 11.30 pm where she was admitted on September 22, despite efforts to sustain her revival, the Apollo Hospitals said.
“This is with indescribable grief that we announce the sad demise of our esteemed Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Puratchi Thalaivi Amma at 11.30 PM today (05.12.2016),” the Apollo Hospitals said in an official release.
It said the Apollo Hospitals joins the nation and the people of the state of Tamil Nadu in deeply mourning her loss.
Security across the state has been reviewed as a precaution against violent or self-harming protests by lakhs of supporters of Amma.
Shops and petrol pumps closed early on Monday, and Chennai roads were deserted.
