Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar, whose house was searched by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) 10 days ago in connection with the gutkha scam, was on Friday appointed one of the organising secretaries of the ruling AIADMK. The decision was taken at a party meeting in which party coordinator and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam and co-coordinator and Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami held consultations with senior colleagues at the AIADMK head office here.
The Chief Minister recently defended the Health Minister arguing that mere allegations were not enough to hold him guilty.
At the party meeting, it was decided to appoint P.H. Pandian, former Assembly Speaker and one of those who took on former interim general secretary V.K. Sasikala immediately after the death of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in December 2016, as party’s legal advisor.
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Mr. Pandian held the post of legal advisor in the mid-1990s before N. Jothi, former MP, was given the post. After Mr. Jothi's exit from the party in 2008, the post was kept vacant, a source in the party says. A. Papa Sundaram, ex-Minister from Karur district was made organising secretary.
Earlier on Thursday, the AIADMK had rewarded several former Ministers, one Minister and five MLAs with party posts.
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Gingee N. Ramachandran, former Union Minister of State for Finance, M. Paranjothi and P. Mohan, both former Ministers, all as organising secretaries; S.M. Velusamy, another former Minister and P.D. Elangovan, who once represented PMK in the Lok Sabha, for the post of deputy propaganda secretaries; “Agri” S.S. Krishnamoorthy and S. Damodaran, both former Ministers, as secretary and joint secretary of the farmers’ wing and V.M. Rajalakshmi, Adi-Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Minister, as deputy secretary of the women’s wing. Mr. Ramachandran, who thrice served each as MLA and Member of Parliament, joined the AIADMK in April 2014 after being in the DMK and the MDMK. In May 2003, he quit as Union Minister of State from the NDA government following the arrest of his personal assistant on bribery charges.
Former Minister and MLA from Perundurai, Thoppu N.D. Venkatchalam, who had briefly associated himself with the camp of T.T.V. Dhinakaran, has become joint secretary of the Amma Peravai. I.S. Inbadurai, Radhapuram MLA, is named deputy secretary of the election wing.
Nirmala Periyasamy, former TV anchor, has been made one of the party spokespersons.
After the party coordinator O. Panneerselvam revolted against former interim general secretary V.K. Sasikala in February last year, Ms. Periyasamy joined his camp.