Jayalalithaa sacks minister, relieves him of party post

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa on Wednesday sacked Animal Husbandry Minister T K M Chinnayya and relieved him and Health Minister C Vijayabaskar from their party posts.

A Raj Bhavan press release said, "Governor K Rosaiah accepted the recommendation of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to drop Chinnayya from the Council of Ministers."

Suburban Tambaram-based Chinnayya rose through the AIADMK ranks and went on to become a Minister when Jayalalithaa assumed office in 2011. A municipal councillor in Tambaram Municipality during 2006-11, he was elected to the Assembly from Tambaram and successfully served as a Minister for nearly five years though several other Cabinet colleagues of his faced the axe.

The Animal Husbandry portfolio held by Chinnayya has now been allocated to Social Welfare Minister B Valarmathi, the release said.

In an AIADMK release, Jayalalithaa said Vijayabaskar has been relieved of Pudukottai District Secretary post. He will be replaced by AIADMK farmers wing secretary P K Vairamuthu, she said. She also stripped Chinnayya from his post of Kancheepuram East District Secretary.

Former Lok Sabha member (2009-14) Chitlapakkam Rajendran will replace Chinnayya as party District Secretary, she said.

For Rajendran, the appointment marks a comeback as he has been lying low since 2013 when an investigative website alleged that he was among 11 Members of Parliament who had come forward to recommend a fictitious firm for money. He was also allegedly caught on a hidden camera agreeing to the deal.

Jayalalithaa also announced the dismissal of Tambaram Town party Secretary M Karikalan and Kancheepuram Central District Party Secretary Thandarai K Manoharan (sitting MLA) from their respective party posts. Rajendran will also be in charge of party affairs in Kancheepuram Central District, she said.