O Panneerselvam steps into CMs shoes but party harps on Supreme Leader. Sep 30, 2014. CHENNAI: O Panneerselvam assumed charge as chief minister of Tamil Nadu on Monday. In addition to retaining charge of his previous departments such as finance, public works and irrigation, he has taken on his leader J Jayalalithaas home and public departments. He will directly hold the reins of the top bureaucracy as well as planning. Adding heft to the core leadership are power minister Natham R Viswanathan, housing and urban development minister R Vaithilingam and highways and minor ports minister K Palanisamy. But at the swearing-in ceremony, there was no doubt about who was really in charge. The looming presence was the absence of Jayalalithaa. The tears in the ministers eyes only seemed to reinforce that. The partys electronic mouthpiece continued to call Jayalalithaa the chief minister of the people of Tamil Nadu. While other channels focussed on the swearing in of O Panneerselvam, the partys channel relegated this to a news item before a commercial break and moved on to an appeal being made to the National Human Rights Commission about the fact that the sentencing was done on a Saturday so that she could not move for bail soon. Observers say that the handing over of significant portfolios to the loyal and trusted OP was yet another signal that this was a temporary arrangement. As things stand, Sheela Balakrishnan, adviser to the government, would handle the bureaucracy. In government, OP and other ministers will continue to have only the same space that they had when Jayalalithaa was chief minister, they say. Theoretically, OP may have much of the power through the key portfolios. But running a government may not be a big challenge since there are systems and procedures in place and procedures to run the state machinery, a senior officer who has served in the chief ministers office said. READ ALSO: Panneerselvam sworn in as Tamil Nadu chief minister Partymen may feel reassured that OPS has done this before and their leader had staged a successful return. Last time, OP had chosen not to sit on the CMs chair in the Secretariat. Today, too, he went to his room in the Secretariat as PWD minister. But, unlike last time, there was no Jayalalithaa at whose feet he fell after taking power. The 2001 and 2014 situation are entirely different, said N Sathiya Moorthy, director of Observer Research Foundation. The outcome of the legal battle ahead will play a crucial role. Since she is in prison this time, the communication between both of them may be a little difficult. To sort out this issue they would have to find a solution. My guess is that Panneer will still manage to run the government since Jayalalithaas trusted bureaucrats are where they were before, he told TOI. READ ALSO: In Jayalalithaas absence, Panneerselvam, ministers take oath with tears in eyes But Sathiya Moorthy felt handling party affairs may be a tougher job than managing the government. In this, OP may have to make decisions on his own to keep the flock together.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 04:48:50 +0000
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