As a caretaker chief minister, O Panneerselvam never sat on the chair of chief minister J Jayalalithaa. Jayalalithaa took that decision on May 24 last year when she was sworn in as chief minister for a second consecutive term. Then, came the populist programmes from the new chief minister, widely perceived as a proxy for convicted AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala. The most attractive of the lot was Jayalalithaa’s promise to that the government would pay half the price of two wheelers for every such vehicle bought by working women. The chief minister also said he signed orders for increasing financial assistance to pregnant women from Rs 12,000 to Rs 18,000.

Source: Hindustan Times February 20, 2017 11:02 UTC