Karunandhi starts a row over seat for Stalin

After the trial court verdict was set aside by Karnataka High Court, she was sworn in as chief minister for the fifth time.

The first was an order to waive off small and medium farmers’ loans in the cooperative banks. To start with, she ordered closure of 500 Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) retail shops, of the total over 6,823 outlets, in the state.

She first signed a file ordering waiver of crop loans upto March 31, 2016 payable to co-operative banks. The decision would entail a financial burden of Rs 5,780 crore to the government.

Though it was MGR who had initiated her into politics and made the RS member, she rose tothe top echelons of the party on her own, breaking new ground for women. Within minutes of her swearing-in, Jayalalithaa issued an important order closing down 500 liquor shops across the State and reducing the business hours of others. TASMAC stores – state-run liquor shops – will open at 12 noon and close at 10 pm, which means that they will now open two hours later than earlier. Of the 28 other ministers, 13 are new names. Union Ministers Venkaiah Naidu and Pon Radhakrishnan attended the meeting and extended greetings on behalf of the Prime Minister.

Stalin is qualified to sit in the Opposition in the Assembly since the party had won 89 seats, DMK chief M. Karunanidhi said.

Karunanidhi added that the DMK was “insulted” in a planned manner, PTI reported. The swearing in ceremony is underway at the Centenary Auditorium at the Madras University. Slogans hailing the party chief echoed even as she signed the documents after taking oath.

Of all the invitees to the event of oath-taking, many were present during the ceremony.

During her election campaign, Jayalalithaa vowed to retrieve Katchatheevu island ceded to Sri Lanka and restore the traditional fishing rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen in Palk Bay.

Several Ministers of the previous cabinet were also retained with same portfolios, with O Panneerselvam, considered number two in the Cabinet, was given Finance and Health Minister C Vijaya Bhaskar, getting the same portfolio.

J Jayalalithaa will take oath as the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister on May 23 (tomorrow).