Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Jayalalithaa effects wholesale transfers

By Radha Venkatesan

CHENNAI June 10. In a wholesale reshuffle, the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, today stripped two Ministers of their portfolios and shunted out over 60 IAS and IPS officers including the Chief Secretary and the Finance Secretary. The day of ``sweeping changes'' unfolded with the Chief Minister driving down to the Raj Bhavan around noon for recommending the crucial ministerial portfolio changes.

In the sixth Cabinet reshuffle in the one-year AIADMK regime, the Finance Minister and number 3 in the Ministry, C. Ponniayan, already stripped of the Law portfolio, was divested of the Information and Technology department. Mr. Ponnaiyan's loss is the Law Minister, D. Jayakumar's gain as he gets the IT portfolio.The Commerical Taxes Minister, S.M. Velusamy, has been stripped of Industries, which will go to Nainar Nagendran, who already holds the weighty Electricity department.

The day also saw a thorough shake-up of the bureaucracy, which came under fierce attack from Ms. Jayalalithaa in the Assembly recently for being ``lax and laid-back''. Apart from shunting out a dozen Secretaries, Ms. Jayalalithaa has brought back some of the trusted officers of her 1991-96 regime to key positions at Fort St.George. N. Narayanan, who was the Finance Secretary in her previous regime, stages a comeback when the State is mired in a financial mess.

R. Karpoorasundarapandian, who was accused and subsequently acquitted in the TANSI land deal case, along with Ms. Jayalalithaa, takes over as the Transport Secretary, just when the State opens up the transport sector to private operators. The IAS Officers Association president and Backward Classes Secretary, N. Athimoolam, who conveyed the bureaucrats' anguish at Ms.Jayalalithaa's remarks that she had to whiplash the officials like a circus ringmaster, has been transferred to the Archives department. In the Police department, the crucial change was the appointment of the ADGP, G. Thilakavathy, as the head of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, which is probing cases against former DMK Ministers. The present DVAC Director, V.K. Rajagopalan, has sought voluntary retirement.

However, the Chief Minister insisted the transfers were effected only to ``improve the efficiency of the administration''.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Jayalalithaa effects wholesale transfers
• Shankar out, Sukavaneshwar in
• Our support not linked to BJP ties: CM
• Mullaperiyar: T.N., Kerala to seek early SC verdict
• Fifth incumbent in Ripon buildings in one year
• Transfer mela covers 52 IAS officers
• Meet on Mayor's powers a farce: DMK
• Thilakavathi elevated to head DVAC
• Cauvery water: TNCC plea to Jayalalithaa
• `Thinniam cases not commensurate with heinous crime'
• Merger certain in July: Chennithala
• `State not competent to streamline MBA, MCA admissions'
• Orders reserved on Gopal plea
• Aluminium units left in the lurch

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu