Chennai: Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam on Wednesday chaired the first Cabinet meeting of the AIADMK Government after Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa was admitted to the Apollo Hospitals on September 22.
The Cabinet meeting, attended by all ministers except School Education Minister ‘MaFoi’ K. Pandiarajan since he is representing Tamil Nadu at the GST Council meeting in New Delhi, lasted for an hour.
The main agenda of the hour-long meeting was the vexed Cauvery issue on which the state government was fighting a legal battle in the Supreme Court, sources said.
Tamil Nadu government has been demanding constitution of Cauvery Management Board to ensure that the final verdict of the Cauvery Water Disputes Terminal (CWDT) is implemented in letter and spirit.
Though there was no official word on what was discussed at the meeting, sources said the preparations for the North East Monsoon also came up for discussion.
This is the first Cabinet meeting chaired by Mr Panneerselvam after Governor CH Vidyasagar Rao allotted him all portfolios held by the Chief Minister on October 11. The Acting Governor had also allowed Mr Panneerselvam to chair Cabinet meetings.
The government released photographs of today's cabinet meeting, where Mr Panneerselvam was seen seated with a picture of Ms Jayalalithaa placed on his desk.
The Cabinet meeting also came in the backdrop of Opposition parties demanding that the TN government lead a delegation to the Prime Minister demanding constitution of Cauvery Management Board (CMB).
