Exactly a year after chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s demise, the fragile situation in the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu still persists with the K Palaniswami government having a wafer-thin margin in the Assembly.
During the year, the state saw two chief ministers and a deputy chief minister.
In addition, there was also confusion in the government as there was a faction fight in the ruling party.
The first and the most important event to note after the death of Jayalalithaa was cyclone Vardah that devastated the Chennai.
Tamil Nadu also witnessed many protests, including the pro-Jallikattu stir by youths.
Another major development was witnessed when O Panneerselvam turned rebel, Palaniswami took over as chief minister with the support of Jayalalithaa’s close aide V K Sasikala, who later went to jail.
Prior to the change, MLAs supporting Palaniswami were forced to stay in a resort in Koovathur.
The Palaniswami-led government was subjected to a floor test in the Assembly, which it won convincingly with 122 votes. The Panneerselvam faction had only 11 supporters.
After the Supreme Court upheld the trial court order against Sasikala and others in the disproportionate assets case, her nephew T T V Dhinakaran was given the plum post of AIADMK deputy general secretary.
However, Dhinakaran did not last long as he was expelled by a united AIADMK led by Palaniswami and Panneerselvam.
A few legislators supporting Dhinakaran submitted separate letters to the governor withdrawing their support to the chief minister.
These legislators were first kept at a resort in Puducherry and from there to Kodagu. These legislators were disqualified by Speaker P Dhanapal under the anti-defection law.
In terms of the relationship between the Centre and the state, there has been a lot of difference when compared to Jayalalithaa’s rule.
The present government supported and implemented few of the policies, including Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (Uday), Goods and Services Tax (GST), Food Safety Modernisation Act and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
On the other hand, the ‘Amma’ branded government schemes gradually started fading. The government found it tough to meet the expenses of Amma Unavagam (canteen).
Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, who was given additional charge of the state, was relieved of his duties after Banwarilal Purohit was appointed. Jayalalithaa passed away on December 5, 2016, after 75 days of hospitalisation.
DH News
