In absence of Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa, O Panneerselvam to chair state cabinet meeting

Finance Minister O Panneerselvam, who has been allocated the portfolios held by ailing Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, will preside over a meeting of the Tamil Nadu cabinet Wednesday, government sources said Tuesday.

Panneerselvam will chair the meeting as Jayalalithaa is undergoing medical treatment at the Apollo Hospital here since September 22.

The meeting to be held Wednesday comes in the backdrop of the ongoing Cauvery water sharing row with Karnataka and demands by Opposition parties for an all-party meeting on the issue.

Farmers’ bodies and political parties had staged state-wide rail blockade yesterday and today urging the Centre to constitute the Cauvery Management Board.

Last week, Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao had allotted the portfolios held by Jayalalithaa including Home and Police, to Panneerselvam, till she could resume official duties.

The Raj Bhavan had then, in a release, said Paneerselvam, who holds the Administrative reforms portfolio, in addition to Finance, “will also preside over cabinet meetings.”

68-year-old Jayalalithaa was admitted to the Apollo hospital on September 22 after she complained of fever and dehydration.

A specialist from London besides three-member team of doctors from AIIMS, Delhi, had also examined Jayalalithaa, who is being treated for infection with respiratory support.