Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam on Wednesday claimed that the change in the mode of election for Mayors and Chairpersons of urban local bodies – from direct to indirect elections – has not yet been done.
Responding to questions of journalists in Chennai and Madurai airports on Wednesday, the Deputy Chief Minister replied that “You [the journalists] will be informed first.”
The clarification of the Deputy Chief Minister came in the light of reports that the Cabinet, at its meeting on Tuesday, decided to bring in an ordinance to have the mode of election reverted to indirect from direct. In January 2018, the State government changed the method of election for Mayors of Municipal Corporations and Chairpersons of Municipalities and Town Panchayats from indirect to direct.
DMK president M.K. Stalin, on Wednesday, had urged Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami to clarify the exact position of the government on the issue.
