Panneerselvam sworn in TN CM

The Tamil Nadu Finance Minister O Panneerselvam was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in a simple ceremony at the Raj Bhavan on Monday.

Two days after the conviction and imprisonment of J Jayalalithaa, the previous chief minister, in a corruption case, Panneerselvam was elected leader of the AIADMK Legislature party on Sunday.

The Governor administered the oath of office to an emotional Panneerselvam, who broke down and started sobbing during the formal event.

Along with him, a 31-member cabinet, consisting of ministers under Jayalalithaa, including TKM Chinnayya, Natham R Viswanathan, S Gokula Indira, BV Ramanaa, and B Valarmathi were also sworn in.

The portfolios of Public, Home and Police handled by Jayalalithaa will come under Panneerselvam in addition to his earlier responsibility. The portfolios of other ministers remain unchanged, according to official sources.

The ministers were teary eyed and could be seen wiping their eyes as they took oath.

This is for the second time that Panneerselvam has become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Earlier, he served as chief minister for six months in 2001 after Jayalalithaa stepped down as CM following her conviction in the Tansi case.

Panneerselvam resigned from the post in March 2002 after the Supreme Court squashed Jayalalithaa’s conviction in the case.

Jayalalithaa was convicted and sentenced to four years imprisonment on corruption charges by a special court in Bangalore on Saturday.

She was found guilty of accumulating assets disproportionate to income in the case relating to the period between 1991 and 1996 when she was the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. The case dragged on for over 18 years before verdict was passed.

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