AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on Thursday removed Agriculture Minister ‘Agri’ S.S. Krishnamoorthy from the post of Tiruvannamalai south secretary.
The action comes in the backdrop of serious accusations against the Minister by members of opposition parties, in particular by TNCC president E.V.K.S. Elangovan, who demanded a CBI probe into the death of an Agriculture Engineering Department official.
The official was allegedly driven to committing suicide after he came under pressure to make some dubious appointments.
A statement from Ms. Jayalalithaa did not cite any reason for his removal. It is also not clear if Mr. Krishnamoorthy would continue to be a Minister. There was no communiqué from the Raj Bhavan till Thursday night.
Ms. Jayalalithaa said he was being relieved of the post with immediate effect. He would be replaced by Information and Technology Minister Mukkur N. Subramanian, who is the district’s north secretary. Mr. Subramanian will oversee party elections till a new person is appointed, she said, asking party cadre to extend full support to him.
In 2012, Mr. Krishnamoorthy was removed from the Cabinet when Ms. Jayalalithaa was Chief Minister. When the AIADMK government took charge in May 2011, he was given the Food portfolio. He was shifted to Commercial Taxes and Registration and then to School Education before he was dropped in 2012. He lost the party post as well. In 2013, he was back as party’s south district secretary in Tiruvannamalai. Mr. Krishnamoorthy represents Kalasapakkam constituency in Tiruvannamalai district.
The AIADMK general secretary on Wednesday removed a Chennai Corporation Councillor, S. Santhanam, and a functionary in R.K. Nagar, from the primary membership of the party.
Opposition has linked Krishnamoorthy to the death of an official in his department
