Chennai (Tamil Nadu), February 13: All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Tuesday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for not attending the event of unveiling former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa's portrait at the state Assembly. "When Narendra Modi was announced as PM candidate Jayalalithaa greeted him as a friend. TN BJP leaders could have attended Jaya portrait event with gratitude," said M Thambidurai, AIADMK Leader, and Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker.

The AIADMK leader further said that the event was opposed by many due to their male chauvinist attitude. "Its due to male chauvinism many oppose Jayalalithaa's portrait in TN assembly," added the Lok Sabha speaker.

In the presence of Chief Minister E Palaniswami, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and other MLAs, the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P. Dhanapal unveiled the portrait of Jayalalithaa in the state Assembly. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) later filed a petition in the Madras High Court against the unveiling of the former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa's portrait at the state Assembly. The DMK even boycotted the entire event, stating that the former chief minister had been convicted in a disproportionate assets case after her death and therefore she is not eligible for such honour.