Udhay sworn-in as Min; gets Youth Welfare & Sports Development

CHENNAI: Chepauk-Triplicane MLA Udhayanidhi Stalin on Wednesday became the 35th member of Tamil Nadu Council of Minister (CoM) after he was sworn-in as the Minister, in a function held at Raj Bhavan.

Governor RN Ravi administered the oath of office and oath of secrecy.

Udhayanidhi was allotted youth welfare, sports development, special programme implementation department and poverty alleviation programme and Rural Indebtedness.

The swearing-in ceremony commenced at 9.30 am with the introduction of Minister designate Udhayanidhi Stalin by the Chief Minister to the Governor followed by Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu who sought permission from the Governor to administer oath of secrecy and oath of office. Principal Secretary to Governor Anand Patil handed over the oath forms following which Udhayanidhi took oath in the 'name of conscience'.

Then the Governor signed the forms and then greeted Udhayanidhi on his elevation.

After the Chief Minister greeted Udhayanidhi, the Chief Secretary sought permission from the Governor to close the function following which the function was closed with the National Anthem.

After the function, the newbie took a group photo with the Governor, Chief Minister and his ministerial colleagues.

Udhayanidhi,on addressing the media, said that there were criticisms when he was initially appointed the youth wing secretary of the party then when he was elected the MLA and now also the criticisms continue.

When asked about his plans for the development of the sports department, Udhayanidhi replied that work to make Tamil Nadu the sports capital of India is underway and assured that international sports events will be conducted on a regular basis in the state.

When asked about criticisms on dynastic politics linked to his elevation, Udhayanidhi replied that it existed in all parties.

End to cinema career:

Udhayanidhi, an actor-turned politician, shot into fame with his movie 'OK-OK' and then rose into a full-time politician in 2019 with the appointment of Youth Wing Secretary of DMK. Though Udhayanidhi was into the movies occasionally he had now decided to end his career in movies after his elevation as Minister.

"Maamannan will be my last movie. I will not be part of the movie signed with actor Kamal Haasan. However, Kamal Haasan was the first person to wish for my appointment as Minister." said Udhayanidhi, while replying to the media on his decision to continue in movies.

Visit to memorial:

After leaving the Governor's office, Udhayanidhi left to the memorials of late Chief Ministers C N Annadurai and his grandfather M Karunanidhi where he paid respect to the leaders.

Work at Secretariat:

After leaving the memorial, Udhayanidhi visited the Secretariat and assumed charge as the Minister.

Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan being the senior-most minister guided Udhayanidhi to his chair and KN Nehru provided his pen to Udhayanidhi to register his first signature.

On assuming charges, Udhayanidhi issued three orders,

1.To provide pension for nine sportsmen ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000 per month,

2.To add Silambattam and Kabaddi in Chief Minister Trophy games and

3.Issued cheque for Rs 4 lakh to shooter Nivedhita, from Coimbatore, who won silver medal in the recently held shooting competition held at Peru.