Confusion reigns over date of Sasikala's swearing in, #RIPTN rules Twitter

Pending DA case verdict throws spanner in the works; public doesn't appear too keen on her

With the decks cleared for All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) General Secretary V K Sasikala to take oath as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, all that stands between the cup and the lip seems to be the pending verdict from the Supreme Court in the two decade-old disproportionate asset case.

At a time when a section of the people and the majority of the media are raising their voices against her elevation, reports have emerged that the Governor has decided to wait till the verdict comes out before proceeding with the swearing in ceremony.

While local media have started flashing that she will take oath on February 7 or 9, neither the Tamil Nadu government nor the Raj Bhavan have confirmed the dates for the oath taking ceremony.

"There is no information on the swearing-in date," AIADMK spokesperson C R Saraswathi said.

Raj Bhavan sources said that Ch Vidyasagar Rao, who is the acting Governor of Tamil Nadu, is in Delhi and there is no information about when he shall arrive in the state.

Sources, political analysts and reports have said that the date was postponed after the Supreme Court's bench, headed by Justice P C Ghose and comprising Justice Amitva Roy, asked Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave to wait for one more week. The senior advocate has challenged the acquittal of later Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, her close aide Sasikala and others in the illegal asset case.

Meanwhile, a Chennai-based NGO on Monday filed a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking to restrain Sasikala from being sworn in as the chief minister since the Apex court is expected to pronounce the verdict within a week.

Reports have also said that Governor Rao has also taken a legal opinion on Sasikala taking over as chief minister in view of the disproportionate assets case against her. However, there has been no official confirmation from Raj Bhavan on this.

On Monday, the Raj Bhavan issued a release saying that O Panneerselvam's resignation as chief minister was accepted by the Governor. In his resignation, Panneerselvam said that he was resigning due to personal reasons and asked the Governor to relieve him on February 6.

However, leading Tamil daily Dinamalar has reported that Panneerselvam was forced to resign during a two-hour long meeting with Sasikala at the latter's Poes Garden residence — which was better known as late chief minister Jayalalithaa's house and where Sasikala and her family stay now.

Governor Rao requested Panneerselvam and the present council of ministers to function until alternate arrangements are made.

Panneerselvam had tendered his resignation on Sunday to enable Sasikala, who was elected as the legislature party leader, to become the chief minister.

On the other side, within the party and outside, a cross section of people are raising their voices against Sasikala taking over as the chief minister. Political analysts have said that Sasikala was not regarded as the natural successor of Jayalalithaa by a major section of the public. It would have been better had she sought the people's mandate in a by-election before thinking of taking over the chief minister's office.

AIADMK MLA and former minister KP Munusamy, one of the important face for the party in the state's western region, opposed Sasikala for "grabbing" the chief minister's post from Panneerselvam.

Social media has been flooded with posts and comments against Sasikala becoming the chief minister. Twitter handles like #RIPTN and #RIPTamilnadu have been trending ever since Sasikala was elected as the legislature party leader. A video of Sofia Ashraf's #notmycm has also gone viral.

During online polls by leading dailies and magazines, the majority of the voters have shown a thumbs down to Sasikala and prefer Panneerselvam as their chief minister.