As PM Paid Tribute To Jayalalithaa, He Hugged Chief Minister Panneerselvam To Console Him

Chennai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi hugged new Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam as the latter wept inconsolably when the Prime Minister visited Chennai's Rajaji Hall, a large public auditorium where J Jayalalithaa's body was placed for people to pay their respects before she was burried at Chennai's Marina beach near her political mentor MGR.

PM Modi was also seen patting Ms Jayalalithaa's long-time companion Sasikala Natarajan on the head. Ms Natarajan too broke down and PM Modi consoled her, stopping for a few minutes to talk to her.

The Prime Minister landed in Chennai a little after noon and flew to the hall in a chopper. As he paid his respects to Ms Jayalalithaa and laid a wreath, Mr Panneerselvam, who was by the PM's side broke down. PM Modi affectionately patted him and suggested that he be strong.

When PM Modi was walking back to his vehicle, Mr Panneerselvam hugged him with tears in his eyes.

Mr Panneerselvam took oath as Chief Minister deep in the night yesterday, hours after Ms Jayalalithaa died at the Apollo hospital. She had a cardiac arrest on Sunday evening and was on life support for a day before she died.

Security was tight when the Prime Minister visited Rajaji Hall, but there were tense moments when a crowd of people surged forward to get a better glimpse of him. PM Modi greeted them with folded hands and was seen requesting people not to take photographs on their mobile phones.

Lakhs of people visited Ms Jayalalithaa's body, which was in a casket draped in the national flag. The funeral was held this evening near a memorial to her mentor MG Ramachandran.

President Pranab Mukherjee also paid respects to Ms Jayalalithaa in Chennai. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and at least eight Chief Ministers, including Delhi's Arvind Kejriwal, also attended the funeral.