Within hours of three new Ministers being sworn into the AIADMK Cabinet in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa dropped Labour Minister K.P. Munusamy from her Cabinet on Tuesday.
A few hours earlier, the AIADMK supremo relieved Mr. Munusamy from his party position as Krishnagiri district secretary and Member of Disciplinary Proceedings Committee.
On Monday Mr. Munusamy was shifted from the key portfolio of Municipal Administration and Rural Development to Labour Department, only to be sacked on Tuesday. For three years, Mr. Munusamy had occupied a prominent position in the party and in the Treasury Benches in the Assembly.
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In fact, he had enjoyed an overwhelming support and confidence of Ms. Jayalalithaa who even fielded him to reply to Opposition charges related to various departments in the Assembly debates. Mr Munusamy's attitude towards middle level leaders and party cadre and his lax political ground work during the Lok Sabha elections were among the reasons for his removal, party sources said.
Earlier, Governor K. Rosaiah administered an oath of office and secrecy to the new Ministers, Agri S.S. Krishnamoorthy, S.P. Velumani and S. Gokula Indira at a brief function at the Raj Bhavan in the presence of Ms. Jayalalithaa.
While Mr. Krishnamoorthy has returned as the Agriculture Minister, Mr. Velumani would be the Municipal Administration and Rural Development Minister and Ms. Gokula Indira the Minister for Handlooms and Textiles.
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Incidentally, Mr. Krishnamoorthy and Mr. Velumani were in the Cabinet between May 2011 and January 2012 while Ms. Gokula Indira served a little longer between May 2011 and February 2013 as Tourism Minister.
Three members of the Cabinet S. Damodaran, K.T. Pachamal and B.V. Ramana were dropped in Monday’s reshuffle. On Tuesday Mr. Munusamy was also dropped.
A Raj Bhavan communiqué issued later on Tuesday night said that the Labour portfolio held by Mr. Munusamy has been allotted to Rural Industries Minister P. Mohan on the Chief Minister's recommendation.
Takes oath as MLA V.N.P. Venkataraman, who was elected to the Assembly from the Alandur constituency in the by-election, took oath on Tuesday in the presence of Speaker P. Dhanapal and Ms. Jayalalithaa in the Speaker's chamber. With him, the AIADMK’s strength in the House has risen to 151.