Jayalalithaa invited to form government in Tamil Nadu

Risingbd Desk: J Jayalalithaa has been invited by Governor K Rosaiah to be chief minister of Tamil Nadu again, eight months after she had to resign when a Bangalore court convicted her in a corruption case.

The 67-year-old is expected to be sworn in with her council of ministers today.

In swift activity early on Friday morning, O Panneerselvam resigned as chief minister, soon after 144 of the AIADMK`s 150 lawmakers met at the party headquarters in Chennai to unanimously elect Jayalalithaa as the leader of the legislature party. Jayalalithaa was not at the meeting.

Panneerselvam drove over to Jayalalithaa`s Poes Garden residence, before meeting the Governor, who accepted his resignation.

Rosaiah then invited Jayalalithaa to form government "at the earliest," and has asked her for a list of ministers who will take oath with her.

After the MLAs met, a beaming Cooperative Minister Sellur K Raju said amid celebrations at the party office, "This is the happiest day of our life."

Jayalalithaa, who is known as "Amma" or "mother," will this afternoon make her first appearance in public after her acquittal by the Karnataka High Court earlier this month. She will garland the statues of AIADMK leaders, including founder MG Ramachandran.

She will also meet the Governor this afternoon.

Jayalalithaa was in the middle of her third term as chief minister when she was sent to jail in September last year. Forced to resign, she picked O Panneerselvam, a man who has for years demonstrated unwavering loyalty, to take her place.

Source: agencies

risingbd/Dhaka/May 22, 2015/Nasim