The Tamil Nadu Cabinet met on Wednesday for the first time since the hospitalisation of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on September 22. O Panneerselvam, the Finance Minister, who has been temporarily allocated the portfolios held by the Chief Minister, presided over the one-hour meeting which was attended by all the other members of the council of Ministers.
Though there was no briefing or releases after the meeting, sources in the Secretariat, said the ongoing Cauvery water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and appointment of special officers to local bodies were discussed by the Cabinet. Sheela Balakrishnan, advisor to the Government and P Ram Mohan Rao, chief secretary were present during the meeting.
The Department of Public Relations, Government of Tamil Nadu, released a picture of the Cabinet meeting in which Panneerselvam was seen presiding over the meeting with a photograph of Jayalalithaa placed on his desk.
The meeting also took stock of the various development schemes launched by the Government targeting the poor and needy. The preparedness of Chennai city to face the North East Monsoon too was discussed as the meteorological department has announced the dates when the monsoon would set in Tamil Nadu.
leader of Opposition MK Stalin had called on Panneerselvam last week demanding the convening of an all-party meeting to discuss the Cauvery issue and taking an all-party delegation to New Delhi to meet the Prime Minister to impress upon him the need to constitute the Cauvery Management Board. The Cabinet meeting is reported to have discussed the issue though no decision has been made.
Within hours of the Cabinet meet, the AIADMK head quarters issued the names of party candidates for the November 19 polls.