Chennai: The first Cabinet meeting under chief minister O. Panneerselvam, who assumed office following J. Jayalalithaa’s death, will be held at the Secretariat on Saturday.
According to AIADMK party sources, the meeting, which will begin at 11.30 am, is expected to first adopt a resolution condoling the demise of chief minister Jayalalithaa on December 5 and to record her great service to the people. The meeting is also expected to adopt a resolution to accord formal sanction for a suitably impressive memorial for Jayalalithaa.
The Panneerselvam government as well as the party functionaries are keen that memorial on Marina being built within 30 metres of MGR Samadhi to be ready before February 24, the birth anniversary of Jayalalithaa.
The keenness with which the party and the government were showing for the memorial project was demonstrated on Friday with Chief Minister O Panneerselvam visiting the site along with Cabinet colleagues and officials.
Interestingly, Sasikala Natarajan was also present lending credence to report that she wields enormous influence on the affairs of the state government and the party since Jayalalithaa’s demise.
In fact, not a day has passed without OPS calling on her at the Poes Garden bungalow since he was sworn-in as CM at midnight on Monday. Mr Panneerselvam is yet to formally take his seat in his office at the Secretariat, but he has been consulting Sasikala regularly. A party source said, “We have invited Prime Minister to inaugurate Jayalalithaa’s memorial. We are confident he will come.”
