Tamil Nadu government has decided to form an inquiry commission to probe the death of former chief minister and AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa.
In a statement in Chennai, chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy said the commission would be headed by a retired High Court judge.
In another significant development, he has also said the house where late Jayalalithaa was living, the ‘Vedha Nilayam’ in Poes Garden in Chennai, would be converted into a memorial in her honour.
The AIADMK faction headed by former chief minister O Panneerselvam has been demanding a CBI probe into the circumstances leading to the death of late Jayalalithaa in December last year.
The faction has made it as a pre-condition for its merger with the Edappadi Palaniswamy faction of the party, in addition to the demand for dismissal of Jayalalithaa’s aide VK Sasikala and her relatives from the party. Recently, Palaniswamy faction passed a resolution seeking to nullify Mr TTV Dhinakaran from party post, who is the nephew of Ms Sasikala.
It also said Ms Sasikala’s appointment as the party General Secretary is also an interim measure, adding party cadres are not prepared to see anyone in the post which was held by late Jayalalithaa.
These moves are viewed by many as an overture to the Panneerselvam faction for effecting merger of the two camps.