Jayalalithaa sacks TKM Chinnayya from council of ministers, relieves him of party post

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa on Wednesday sacked Animal Husbandry Minister TKM Chinnayya and relieved him and Health Minister C Vijayabaskar from their party posts. A Raj Bhavan press release said, “Governor K Rosaiah accepted the recommendation of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to drop Chinnayya from the Council of Ministers.” [caption id=“attachment_2572826” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Jayalalithaa. PTI[/caption] Suburban Tambaram-based Chinnayya rose through the AIADMK ranks and went on to become a minister when Jayalalithaa assumed office in 2011. A municipal councillor in Tambaram Municipality during 2006-11, he was elected to the Assembly from Tambaram and successfully served as a minister for nearly five years though several other Cabinet colleagues of his faced the axe. The Animal Husbandry portfolio held by Chinnayya has now been allocated to Social Welfare Minister B Valarmathi, the release said. In an AIADMK release, Jayalalithaa said Vijayabaskar has been relieved of Pudukottai District Secretary post. He will be replaced by AIADMK farmers wing secretary PK Vairamuthu, she said. She also stripped Chinnayya from his post of Kancheepuram East District Secretary. Former Lok Sabha member (2009-14) Chitlapakkam Rajendran will replace Chinnayya as party District Secretary, she said. For Rajendran, the appointment marks a comeback as he has been lying low since 2013 when an investigative website alleged that he was among 11 Members of Parliament who had come forward to recommend a fictitious firm for money. He was also allegedly caught on a hidden camera agreeing to the deal. Jayalalithaa also announced the dismissal of Tambaram Town party Secretary M Karikalan and Kancheepuram Central District Party Secretary Thandarai K Manoharan (sitting MLA) from their respective party posts. Rajendran will also be in charge of party affairs in Kancheepuram Central District, she said. PTI