Cabinet reshuffle, PTR gets IT

CHENNAI: State Finance and Human Resources Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan was allotted the Information Technology and Digital Services portfolio in the first ever Cabinet reshuffle made by Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday when TRB Rajaa, who was sworn in as a new Minister by Governor RN Ravi, was entrusted with Industries.

Thangam Thennarasu, who was hitherto taking care of the Industries Ministry and was behind the organization of investors meets, will now handle Finance and Human Resources Management, an official press release said.

Soon after Rajaa was sworn in at the Raj Bhavan in a brief function, the DMK top brass, along with the new minister, visited the Anna Samadhi and the M Karunandhi memorial on the Marina sands before driving down to the Secretariat, where the Ministers took charge of their new departments by meeting officials and signing files.

In the place of S M Nasar, the former Milk and Dairy development Minister who was dropped from the Cabinet a couple of days ago, T Mano Thangaraj was appointed and he took charge of the Ministry at the Secretariat holding meetings with officials. A video of Nasar throwing stones at his party workers during a meeting a few months ago went viral creating a sensation.

M P Saminathan, the information and publicity, has been handed over additional portfolios like Tamil development and he too assumed duties.

Though most of the changes made in the Ministry have been in the public domain for some time in the form of rumours floating around in social media channels, the change of portfolio for Thiaga Rajan became a matter of discussion though it was speculated for a long time by many for various reasons.

Apart from a widespread disenchantment among many Ministers and party functionaries over Thiaga Rajan’s tendency to hold on tightly to the purse strings and not release funds from the State exchequer to meet many demands, the recent leak of a couple of audio clips led to the speculation that he might be divested of the Finance portfolio.

However, Thiaga Rajan, in a tweet after the reshuffle, said that he met Stalin at the Secretariat and thanked him for giving the opportunity to be the Minister of Information Technology. In an earlier tweet, he said that it was the number one industry for investment and job creation and that technology shaped the future.

Though Tamil Nadu was the pioneer in the IT sector during the time of M Karunanidhi, the State lagged behind in the last one decade. He promised to make efforts to attract more investments, accelerate job creation and deliver growth at a pace that would re-establish the State’s lead position in the IT sector.

He also hoped that his efforts would be enriched by his own experience in establishing land managing a pioneering Global Capability Centre 15 years ago and the connectivity with the IT and ITES industry gained during his professional career.

New Industries Minister Rajaa, a three time MLA from Mannargudi and secretary of the DMK’s IT wing, is also the son of DMK treasurer T R Baalu. His induction was also speculated by many for quite some time. Now he will have to take forward the work started by his predecessor towards making Tamil Nadu a ‘US $ one trillion economy’ by 2030, which is the dream of the Chief Minister.

After assuming charge, he said that he would be accompanying the Chief Minister in his foreign trips aimed at luring investors to the State, which, he said, was capable of drawing investors as it was a heaven of peace.

He said that the Chief Minister had assured to develop the Cauvery delta area, from where he has been elected to the Assembly, and that he would work towards developing the region.