Jayalalithaa is our guiding light, says O Panneerselvam

Chennai: Carrying on the 'party policy' of invoking Amma's name at all possible chances, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam in his budget speech said she remains the "guiding beacon and a guardian" of the AIADMK government. He also took her name before commencing his budget presentation, saying he was "revering her visionary and able leadership and seeking her blessings to continue to fulfill her great legacy".

Picking a verse from Tirukkural, OPS said, "Only great persons endowed with noble qualities can achieve the zenith of perfection in the performance of great deeds." Amma was an "embodiment of this couplet, as she lived by her credo of 'I am by the people and for the people', committing herself entirely to the welfare of people and development of the state," said the Deputy CM to the thumping of benches by his party colleagues.

Amma will live forever in the hearts of the Tamil people as she remains the "catalyst of our inner consciousness", OPS said, adding that she has always been "an inspirational force to realise our potential and remains our guiding beacon and a guardian of the good governance regime established by her perseverance".

OPS also had a word of admiration for Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, declaring he was effectively following Amma's path "surmounting all challenges posed by adversaries".

Earlier, the AIADMK legislators accorded a grand welcome to Palaniswami and Panneerselvam by thumping their desks when they together entered the Assembly Hall for the budget presentation. OPS as finance minister carried the budget papers in a suitcase that a large picture of Jayalalithaa pasted on it-just as last year