The controversy that erupted over the seating arrangement for DMK treasurer M.K. Stalin at the swearing-in ceremony of the Council of Ministers culminated in a clarification by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Tuesday. However, there was a similar controversy earlier in the past.
In March 2002, when Ms. Jayalalithaa won a by-election to Andipatti and took over the top post, the swearing-in ceremony saw the then Leader of the Opposition K. Anbazhagan allotted the sixth row at the swearing-in.
This became a political controversy then, with opposition leaders criticising the arrangement. On March 7, 2002, Ms. Jayalalithaa issued a statement explaining why the senior DMK leader was made to sit in the sixth row.
She said according to the ‘Warrant of Precedence’ that is followed for such functions, the Leader of the Opposition came 18th, which resulted in the allotment of the seat. Ms. Jayalalithaa even wrote a letter to Mr. Anbazhagan expressing regret.
Ordering an amendment to the warrant and instructing officials not to make the mistake again, she said had the seating arrangements of the swearing-in been brought to her notice at the appropriate time, she would have asked the official concerned to allot Mr. Anbazhagan a front row seat. However, by the time she noticed that the DMK general secretary was in the sixth row, it was too late.
