MDMK leader Vaiko claims Mr Paneerselvam is 'belittling his office'
MDMK leader Vaiko has accused Tamil Nadu chief minister O Paneerselvam of "belittling his office" and asked why he does not use the chief minister's chamber in Chennai's Fort St George or have a nameplate outside his office that announces his designation.
"Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam does not work as a Chief Minister. He does not use the Chief Minister's chamber, there's not even a name plate. Chief Minister is a statutorily recognised post, but it is not happening here," said Mr Vaiko, whose party is a partner of the BJP in the ruling NDA.
Mr Paneerselvam's party, the AIADMK, has called Mr Vaiko's attack an "exaggeration." The ruling party said the new Chief Minister simply prefers his old office and does not want to use a CM nameplate.
O Paneerselvam, 63, an old loyalist of AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa, was hand-picked by her to replace her as chief minister when she had to step down in September after being convicted by a Bangalore court in a corruption case. She spent 21 days in jail before being granted bail by the Supreme Court and is back in Chennai.
The chief minister, who had wept as he took oath two days after his party chief was arrested, continues to use the office he used as Tamil Nadu's Public Works Department Minister, a portfolio he additionally holds now.
This is the second time that Ms Jayalalithaa picked Mr Panneerselvam to replace her. He served as chief minister in 2000 too, when Ms Jayalalithaa had to step down after being convicted in another case. He was in office for six months, till Mr Jayalalithaa was acquitted by a higher court.
J Jayalalithaa, who had swept into power with an emphatic mandate in 2012, is debarred from contesting the next assembly elections due in 2016, unless her conviction is set aside by a higher court.