The hospitalisation of Chief Minister N. Rangasamy for COVID-19 treatment could delay the Cabinet expansion by more than a week, authoritative sources told The Hindu .
Mr. Rangasamy, who was keeping ill for some time, tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday and was immediately rushed to a private hospital in Chennai.
“The treatment started on Sunday night itself and his health condition is stable,” a top party functionary told The Hindu .
‘No consensus’
BJP in-charge for the Union Territory Nirmal Kumar Surana said the expansion of the Cabinet would take place after the Chief Minister got cured of the virus. “Talks on inducting ministers are in an advanced stage. We wanted to form the Ministry as soon as possible so that we could aggressively participate in the COVID-19 containment measures,” he said.
However, authoritative sources in the AINRC and BJP have confirmed that even before hospitalisation of the Chief Minister, both the parties could not arrive at a consensus on the Deputy Chief Minister’s post.
The BJP was keen on getting the Deputy Chief Minister’s post but the AINRC leadership was not keen on accepting the formula.
The AINRC had so far conceded to accommodate two Ministers, the Deputy Speaker and share other parliamentary posts between members of the parties.
L-G calls CM
Lt. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Monday contacted the Chief Minister over phone and enquired about his health. The Lt. Governor wished the Chief Minister a speedy recovery to render service to the people of the Union Territory, a release from Raj Nivas said.
