In the midst of the chaos and confusion surrounding the incumbent AIADMK Government currently led by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, the Government and the websites of its various departments are still clinging on to pictures of the former CM J. Jayalalithaa as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

This is not new to the Jaya-less AIADMK Government ever since O. Panneerselvam, the former Chief Minister, chose against sitting in the CM’s room in the Secretariat used by Jaya when he was selected by her as the CM, after she was convicted by the Special Court in Karnataka in the infamous DA case on September 27, 2014.

Every Government meeting that was held while she was serving the term and was on bail, still held her photograph and most of the websites were not updated properly, according to sources.

Even as the websites needed no updates as Jaya was acquitted and later won two terms in succession in the elections in 2016, the problem once again came up for debate when she passed away on December 5, 2016, while she was still the Chief Minister.

Though this did not raise queries as the AIADMK led Government however continued its reign even after her demise, the conviction against Jaya, and her aide and the current AIADMK General Secretary V.K. Sasikala, on February 14, 2017 meant that her pictures should be removed from all websites.

However, most websites, including that of the Tamil Nadu Department of Information and Public Relations (TNDIPR), were only selectively updated, with some of the pages still displaying Jaya’s pictures with a footnote saying “Honourable Chief Minister Selvi J. Jayalalithaa.”

Interestingly, the sub-link to the Chief Minister’s page has been updated and shows the name of the current CM, Palaniswami; yet other pages still carry her photograph and name as the CM.

Other websites, including the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Boards (HR & CE) and Coimbatore Municipal Corporation, still carry Jaya’s picture. However, websites including that of the Public Works Department have been updated with a photograph of the current CM.

Calling it lethargy on part of the concerned officials, activists have urged that the pictures of Jaya be removed immediately. “The Government has not given importance to the websites even as we are moving towards Smart City proposals and e-payments of Government bills,” they said.

When contacted, the officials from TNDIPR were not available for comment.