AIADMK names Panneerselvam as Tamil Nadu chief minister - Livemint

O. Panneerselvam (speaking) was chief minister for six months in September 2011 when J. Jayalalithaa was disqualified by the Supreme Court in the Tansi land deal case. Photo: Mint

Chennai: State finance minister O. Panneerselvam was on Sunday named the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, a day after a special court in Bangalore convicted J. Jayalalithaa in the 18-year-old disproportionate assets case.

Panneerselvan, for whom this is the second stint as chief minister, was named after discussions among leaders of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party and a meeting with Jayalalithaa.

AIADMK members of the legislative assembly (MLAs), who met on Sunday, decided that Jayalalithaa will be succeeded by Panneerselvam, who was chief minister for six months in September 2011 when she had been disqualified by the Supreme Court in the Tansi land deal case. She was acquitted later.

“Panneerselvam has always been an ‘Amma’ loyalist and that’s the reason she gave him important portfolios of finance and public works,” said a senior AIADMK party member who did not want to be named.

Jayalalithaa was sentenced to four years in prison and fined Rs.100 crore by the court on Saturday. The jail sentence immediately disqualifies her from being an MLA.

Earlier on Sunday, Sheela Balakrishnan , the chief secretary of Tamil Nadu flew to Bangalore for discussions with Jayalalithaa on her successor, said a senior AIADMK party member who did not want to be named, according television news channels.

Jayalalithaa is the first serving chief minister to lose her post and be sent to jail. Along with Jayalalithaa, her close aide Sasikala Natarajan , J.Ilavarasi and disowned foster son V. Sudhakaran were sentenced for four years in prison and fined Rs.10 crore each.

Special Judge John Michael D’Cunha convicted the 66-year-old AIADMK chief in a case of disproportionate assets to the tune Rs.66.65 crore dating back to 1991-96, during her first stint as chief minister. Convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the AIADMK chief has decided to approach the Karnataka high court for bail before mulling filing an appeal challenging her conviction.

On Saturday, when the case was being heard, Jayalalithaa spoke to Panneerselvam twice on the phone during break time.

Her senior counsel B. Kumar said on Sunday: “We will be filing a bail application in the Karnataka high court tomorrow.” However, the matter may be taken up only on Tuesday when there is a scheduled hearing by a vacation bench because the high court will be on vacation from 29 September to 6 October for Dussehra.

Lawyers were putting the final touches to their legal strategy to seek immediate relief for Jayalalithaa. Since she has been sentenced to a period of more than three years, only the high court can grant bail in Jayalalithaa’s case.

Kumar said a team of lawyers were holding discussions on filing a petition seeking a stay on the conviction and the sentence awarded to Jayalalithaa in the 18-year-old case.

The criminal revision petition is one of the options before the lawyers.

A stay on the conviction would nullify Jayalalithaa’s disqualification as MLA.

Unless the conviction is overturned by a higher court, Jayalalithaa runs the risk of being barred from contesting elections for 10 years—four years while she is in jail and six after release. Under a Supreme Court judgement in 2013, an MLA or member of Parliament would be automatically disqualified if he or she is convicted and imprisoned for two years or more.

Before this judgement, Section 8(4) of the Representation of People Act, which was struck down by the Supreme Court, protected elected representatives from disqualification if they appealed before a higher court within three months.

Meanwhile, normal life returned to Chennai and most parts of Tamil Nadu on Sunday after angry protests by AIADMK workers on Saturday.

Shops that were forced to shut down on Saturday by AIADMK workers opened on Sunday morning. Private companies, multiplex cinemas and shopping malls closed due to the rampage and violence of AIADMK party men. AIADMK and rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party men clashed in Madurai and in front of rival DMK party chief M. Karunanidhi ’s home.

Meanwhile, Chennai Police on Sunday registered a case against Karunanidhi, his son and party treasurer M.K. Stalin and several others for allegedly attacking a group of AIADMK workers near Gopalapuram immediately after Saturday’s court verdict, following allegations by AIADMK party workers.

After the judgment, AIADMK members burnt effigies of Karunanidhi and Bharatiya Janata Party politician Subramanian Swamy in parts of Chennai and went on a rampage, pelting stones and forcing shops to close down. There were incidents of violence across Tamil Nadu.

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